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Nick has a go



Following Dagfinn Aune and colleagues' call for both women and men to eat at least ten 80 gram portions of vegetables and fruit (V&F) a day (see the article 
'Five-a-day? Ten? Lucky thirteen?'), I thought I would see if I could squeeze ten portions of V&F into my habitual meal structure, viz: a hearty breakfast (~600g), a wholesome lunch (~470g) and a modest dinner (~260g).

The hearty breakfast (~600g)

The hearty breakfast required little change. I had been breakfasting on porridge accompanied with two portions of fruit followed with a generous (~30g) mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds and lubricated throughout with a very large dollop (~100g) of organic plain yoghurt for years. Adding a third 80g portion of fruit was not difficult:
Porridge - ~230g
Portion (80g) of fruit x 3 - ~240g
Sunflower and pumpkin seed mix - ~30g
Yoghurt - ~100g
a total weight of meal - ~600g
One of the first things I noticed when I took on this challenge was how small an 80g portion of V&F can be, e.g.
one small-to-medium-sized apple, two small-ish clementines, six medium-sized strawberries, one small-to-medium sized potato, six whole mature mange-tout pods, four medium-sized broccoli florets.

The wholesome lunch (~470g)

My daily 'wholesome lunch' has been a main course of either meat or fish (~80g) accompanied with three 80g portions of raw or steamed vegetables for a long time. Again, adding an 80g portion of fruit as a dessert was not difficult:
Portion of meat or fish - ~80g
Portion (80g) of vegetables x 3 - ~240g
Portion (80g) of fruit - ~80g
a total weight of meal - ~400g

The modest dinner (~260g)

I usually eat a modest evening meal, and try to finish eating and drinking by seven in order to give my digestive system the best chance of completing most of its work by ten. I am told that this:
  • gives me the best chance of a good night's sleep
  • reduces my likelihood of putting on weight or fat
I rarely want to stop work at, say, five fifteen, in order to cook to eat at six. Instead I do another hour or so's work and raid the fridge around six thirty. Regulars are (i) a slice of German-style rye bread spread generously with ~40g of houmous, pesto or coleslaw, (ii) half a portion (five pieces) of sun-dried tomatoes (~40g), (iii) half a portion of guacamole (~40g) and (iv) an 80g portion of fruita total meal of ~200g.
So, if 40g of coleslaw counts as a half portion of vegetables and 40g of sun-dried tomatoes counts as half a portion of fruit (and I think they do) I am on track for four and a half portions of vegetables and five portions of fruit - nine and a half portions of V&F a day in all.
Perhaps I could:
  • nibble an 80g portion of raw vegetable (e.g. mange-tout, broccoli) while preparing lunch
  • count the 40g of guacamole (largely avocado) at dinner as a half portion of fruit
  • introduce a mid-afternoon banana
  • make lunch a vegetarian meal of four portions of V&F
  • aim at eight 100g portions rather than ten 80g portions? After all, most medium-size apples, for instance, even after coring, weigh ~80g
(17453)  Nick Anderson. Green Health Watch Magazine 52 13.8.2017

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