Five-A-Day has moved to Seven.
We should aim to eat seven portions of fruit and veg a day, for the sake of our heart, says Joanna’s food blog.
This is a very tall order, but she has been helpful and listed the good things to eat. The list includes so many vegetables that it may inspire vegetable gardeners who are still debating what to plant.
The complete list is shown below. This includes a few non-veg items, but it is helpful to know what can be mixed with the vegetables, and may affect what is chosen for the kitchen garden.
GOOD THINGS TO EAT
* Legumes: all kinds – green beans, baked beans, chickpeas, lentils etc
* Cabbage family – not just broccoli, but also Brussels sprouts, chard, rocket, cauliflower, watercress, kale, turnips, all kinds of greens
* Cereals: oats, wheatgerm, ground flaxseed, brown/wild rice, barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye, millet, bulgur wheat, spelt, couscous, etc
* Oranges, lemons, tangerines, limes, and grapefruit, unless you’re on statins, in which case never. It shouldn’t all be in the form of juice, as part of the goodness is in the fibre. The zest is good, too
* Pumpkin: also carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and orange peppers
* Salmon, also halibut, tinned tuna, sardines, herring, trout, sea bass, oysters, clams
* Spinach: also kale, spring greens, pak choi, Romaine lettuce
* Tea: black tea is fine
* Tomatoes: also watermelon, papaya, guava
*
* Nuts: walnuts, almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews. NB not roasted/salted
* Yoghurt, fat free and unsweetened
* Blueberries, red grapes, cranberries, loganberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, blackberries, cherries
* Onions, garlic, shallots health vegetable garden
Hi … .
The trick to eating five/seven a day is to be sure to start at breakfast … also, when planning meals, to try to think first of what veg to have, that way they are the centre of the meal, which is much healthier - especially if you’ve grown them yourself!
I don’t always manage, despite knowing the theory, the tricks - but I’m very keen on the 80/20 rule, which says you’re okay if you get it right most of the time. Although sometimes I don’t even manage that!
Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com
Comment by Joanna - May 27, 2007 12:08 pm
Hi Joanna
Thanks for that - I can see that it is a completely different mindset - Think of the veg first & then add the rest - great advice for vegetable gardeners.
Thanks for your help
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg - May 27, 2007 9:49 pm
Hi Top veg,
Another great article and I like the idea Joanna made about thinking of the vegetables first. I normally think of the meat then the veg (probably because we farm beef!). I will try the other way round but won’t tell the farmers! Thanks for the insiration Top Veg.
Sara from farmingfriends
Comment by Sara - May 30, 2007 8:03 am