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Eat your 5 and be healthy!

              
   

                                                                                                                                                                                                         





                              



Do you eat your 'Five a day'?
Do you know what your 'Five a day' is?

You must have seen the above logo? It's on packets and boxes in supermarkets and food stores all over the country. It's there to remind you to eat your 'Five a Day'! And to help youmake sure you have your 'Five a Day'.
So what does 'Five a Day' mean?

For a while now the Government have been telling us that we should be eating 5 portions of fruit a day to keep ourselves healthy. Eating a variety of fruit and vegetables will provide you with plenty vitamins and minerals. For example, many are naturally high in Folic Acid, Vitamin C and Potassium. They are also a good source of fibre and antioxidants, which are all important to your health.

Fruit and veg are generally low fat, low calorie foods. So eating fruit and vegetables instead of foods that are high in fat and added sugars may help you to keep to a healthy weight, or even lose weight.

Eating fruit and veg may also help reduce the risk of the two main killers in this country, heart disease and cancer.

It's hard for some people to eat that many, or so they think. But spread out throughout the day and you don't really notice that you are eating in excess of the 5 recommended portions. Add extra tinned, frozen or fresh veg to a soup, stew, curry or Spaghetti Bolognese. There is no rule to say that you have to keep to an authentic spag bol recipe! Add a can of kidney beans; it's a very tasty addition. Adding a lot of veg to a spag bol stretches the meat, therefore, not only are you having a more healthy option by not eating so much meat, but it becomes cheaper for those who have to watch the pennies.

A good tip!

For an even healthier spag bol or shepherds pie…brown the mince first in a small drop of water. Once browned drain it through a sieve and wash under the cold water tap. This washes any trace of fat left on the mince. It may not get rid of all the fat…but it will certainly be much healthier.

I've been surprised at the amount of people whom I know who hardly eat any fruit or vegetables or even know about 'Five a Day'. That's why I decided to write a page on my Website about 'Five a Day'.





 What is a portion of fruit?

 First of all, the fruit and veg DO NOT have to be fresh.
They can be canned, frozen or dried.

A portion of fruit is:     
  Apple         1 medium/4 dried apple rings     (VitaminC & Fibre)

                Apricots 3        Canned 6 halves, Dried 3 whole      (Vitamins A, C & Potassium)

                                                                      Avocado ½

                                     (Vitamins A, B6, C & E, Fibre, Potassium, Iron & Essential fatty acids)

              Banana 1 medium                                               (Vit B6, Potassium)

                        Blackberries 9-10           (Vitamin C & Fibre)

                     Blackcurrants 4 heaped tablespoons  

                                                                   

Blueberries 4 heaped tablespoons    (Vitamin C & Fibre)

         Cherries 14                        Cherries canned 3 heaped tablespoons    (Vitamin C)

Damsons 5-6                                                                              

                                                                                                       

                                                  Dried fruit 1 handful such as dates, sultanas and raisins,                              

                           Figs 2

                                               

Fruit Salad canned 3 heaped tablespoons

Fruit smoothie 1 x 150ml

                               Gooseberries 1 handful                            (Vitamin C)

               Grapefruit 1/2  - canned 8 segments       (Vitamin C)

                          Grapes   a handful                          (Vitamin C)

                                           Kiwi fruit 2         (Vitamin C)

                 Kumquat 6-8           (Vitamin A & C)

                                Lychee 6                          (Vitamin B2, B3, C & Magnesium)

Mango 2 x 2" slices                             (Vitamin C)

                                     Melon 1 x 2" slice     (Vitamins A & C)

                             Nectarine 1                                       (Vitamins A & C)

                                                  Orange 1                  (Vitamin C)

                    

                                       Passion Fruit 5 to 6    (Vitamins A & C)

               Paw Paw (Papaya) 1 slice          (Vitamin C, Potassium & Folate)

                          Peach 1/canned peaches 2 halves /7 slices2 plums (Vitamin A)

                       Pear 1 medium/canned 2 halves or 7 slices          (Vitamin C & Fibre)

                        Pineapple 1 large slice/canned 2 rings/12 chunks (Vitamin C)

                     

                            Plums 2                     (Vitamin A)   

   

Prunes 3

Raspberries 2 handfuls/canned 20                                                                                                                                             (Vitamin C & Fibre)         

               

                           Rhubarb 2 heaped tablespoons/canned 5 chunks