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Tips for reaching your 5-a-day

Posted by Amy Smith5-a-day, vegetables

A fresh fruit salad
Are you still getting your 5-a-day?

You might be finding it more challenging than usual to eat healthily while we’re in isolation.

Supermarkets are sometimes running low on your go-to fruits and veggies, and you may be more tempted by unhealthy foods and excess snacking if you’re bored and confined indoors.

Here are some tips to help you still get your 5-a-day when at home in lockdown:

a range of tinned vegetable like green beans and sweetcorn
Try tinned or frozen

They’re just as good as fresh and last much longer! So rather than going out and buying fresh fruit or veg which might not get finished, it’s easier to buy frozen or tinned!

But, if you have bought fresh fruit which you won’t be able to finish, then go ahead a freeze it. This is a great option for very brown bananas or berries, then once they’ve been frozen they can be used up in smoothies or baking!  

A handful of dried fruits
Dried fruit

Dried fruit like raisins, apricots, dried mango etc are all great options for getting  your 5 a day, and also last longer than fresh options. When having dried fruit the key is to have a smaller portion (about 2 tablespoons or 30g to be exact) as we want to be slightly wary of the sugar content which can quickly add up and impact our teeth!  

A glass of orange juice
150ml juice or smoothies

Fruit juice and smoothies count toward your 5-a-day, but not too much as our maximum recommended amount in a day is 150ml. It’s always best to try and eat your fruits and vegetables, but if you’re struggling with finding our favourites then in liquid form is fine. Blending up your own smoothies is also a great way to use up any extra fruit or veg you have lying around so it doesn’t get wasted. 

a hearty bowl of baked beans
Lentils, pulses and beans count too!

This even includes baked beans! Around 3 tablespoons counts as a serving and if your cupboards are anything like ours, we bet most of you have a few tinned goods sitting in our cupboards! Now is a great chance to use them up and maybe adapt one of our recipes or try something new!  

a sliced dragon fruit
Try new things!

Maybe now is the perfect time to try something new! Do you normally buy broccoli every week but now it’s sold out at the supermarket? Well maybe this is the time to try cauliflower or courgettes…who knows – you might even find a new favourite! Spend some time finding a recipe with the new fruit/veg that you’ve found, this is also a great activity to include children in as they can be involved in the process, it shows them that even adults and parents don’t know all the vegetables, and is a great time to get some exposure to certain foods.