What counts as 5 a day?
In recent times, British citizens have been indoctrinated in the value of eating ‘five a day’ – and this is so not a bad thing.
Although many of us would prefer five chocolates and cakes a day, fruit and veg are the name of the ‘five a day’ game.
The other day I was watching my daughter chew aggressively on a piece of dried apricot – whilst simultaneously shoving the rest of her lunch (avo and a sandwich) into her mouth. Entertainment deluxe.
It took her a fair amount of time to get through all the mastication required to grind said apricot into submission.
As I contemplated the dynamics of fitting so much food into such a small mouth I began to wonder whether the dried apricot smearing my daughter’s face is, in fact, a ‘five a day’ fruit – does the fact that it is dried exclude it from the category?
So, after a consultation with Dr Google, here’s what counts as ‘five a day’:
- Fresh and frozen fruit and veg
- Tinned and dried fruit and veg
- A 150ml glass of diluted unsweetened 100% fruit or veg juice
- Beans and pulses also count – but only as one portion per day, irrespective of how many cannellini beans you eat.
Keep the fruit and veg rolling!
This is a public forum and we welcome your opinions. However, libelous and abusive comments are not permitted.





Comments are closed.