I was somewhat discombobulated recently to hear that the
recommended 5 portions of fruit or veg a day had been doubled. As a portion is considered to be 80g that makes
800g and I’m not sure I eat that weight of food altogether in a day!
Nevertheless, I had a look into it and found that eating ten portions
of fruit and veg daily is more achievable than I first thought. I learned the following …
~ Whilst potatoes
apparently don’t count (surprise!) sweet potatoes do and as they are so
delicious I eat quite a lot of these already.
~ Beans and pulses count but, oddly enough, no matter how many you eat they only count as one portion. Presumably this is one per day and not one for your whole life!!!
~ Tinned fruit and veg count.
~ Just 30g of dried fruit is considered a portion – probably get that much in a slice of fruit cake!
~ Fruit and vegetables in ready made bought in foods also count.
~ Mushrooms are in!
~ Tomato sauces (I’m not talking ketchup – I don’t think) are a portion.
~ Vegetable soup is a good source of veg goodness whether homemade, chilled readymade or tinned.
~ Beans and pulses count but, oddly enough, no matter how many you eat they only count as one portion. Presumably this is one per day and not one for your whole life!!!
~ Tinned fruit and veg count.
~ Just 30g of dried fruit is considered a portion – probably get that much in a slice of fruit cake!
~ Fruit and vegetables in ready made bought in foods also count.
~ Mushrooms are in!
~ Tomato sauces (I’m not talking ketchup – I don’t think) are a portion.
~ Vegetable soup is a good source of veg goodness whether homemade, chilled readymade or tinned.
This being the case here are some ways that should help you meet the new requirements without really
noticing!
Soup
If you are getting your fix via soup then making homemade is surely the way to go – see here for a Seriously Useful Soup Recipe with lots of variations.
Hummus and Other Bean Dips
See here for how to make all sorts of bean dips.
White Fish with Beans and Chorizo
This is one of may favourite dinners, the recipe for my beany fish stew is here.
Roasted Cauliflower “Steak”
A 150ml glass of real fruit juice equals one of your daily
portions but how about having a fruit sorbet too? Here is a recipe for Blackberry Sorbet – it does a have modicum of vodka in it but nowhere does it say you have to
give up alcohol to take your ten a day!
Roasted Sweet Potato, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Ice Cream
The recipe for this plus recipes and ideas for other Savoury, Interesting & Peculiar Ice Creams is here.
Fartes de Batatas
These are little sweet gooey cakes or sweeties from
Portugal. Their name means something like “Potatoes that Satiate”, what did you
think it meant?
170g caster sugar
plus more for sprinkling
1 egg
15g soft butter
170g cooked,
mashed and cooled sweet potato
(slightly warm the
sweet potato before removing from its skin and mashing.)
70g ground almonds
finely grated zest
of 1 orange
a squeeze of lemon
or orange juice
1 egg white,
lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
~ Whisk together
the first three ingredients very well indeed till light and fluffy.
~ Stir in the
mashed sweet potatoes, ground almonds, citrus zest and juice.
~ Scrape the
mixture into a pan and stir over medium heat to dry out; when the texture of
stiff mashed potato spread onto a floured board to cool.
~ Preheat the
oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.
~ Roll into
walnut sized balls then flatten into little cakes.
~ Place on a
greased baking tray, brush with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with caster
sugar.
~ Bake for about
20 minutes till slightly puffed up, golden and fragrant
~ Cool on a rack
and serve with coffee.
So go on - get some of the good stuff down you!
So go on - get some of the good stuff down you!
