How much is a portion of fruit or veg?
It’s National Allotments Week and with the abundance of seasonal fruit and vegetables around at this time of year, we’ve asked our Dietitian to tell us, what exactly is a portion of fruit and veg?
The latest health recommendation is that for health benefits, we should all be aiming to eat at least five (80g) portions of a wide variety fruit and vegetables a day – about a third of your total daily food consumption.
One 80g portion of fruit or vegetables is equivalent to a ‘handful size’ of any of the following:
Fruit:
- One banana, orange, pear, apple or a similar sized fruit
- Half a large grapefruit or avocado
- A slice of large fruit such as melon or pineapple
- Two small satsumas, plums, kiwi fruit
- A handful of grapes, cherries or berries or lychees
- One heaped tablespoon of dried fruit (such as raisins or apricots)
- Three heaped tablespoons of stewed fruit or fresh fruit salad in natural juice or water
- *150ml of unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice or fruit smoothies
* Both juice and smoothies can only count as one portion no matter how much you drink because the juicing process removes most of the fibre from the fruit which increases the risk of tooth decay when compared to whole fruit. It’s best to have juice or smoothies at mealtimes for this reason.
Vegetables:
- Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
- One dessert bowl of salad
- Three heaped tablespoon of pulses such as beans or lentils (however much you eat, pulses only count as one of your five-a-day). This is because, although they are a good source of fibre, they contain fewer nutrients than other fruits and vegetables.
Remember that potatoes, yams, plantains, and cassava do not count towards your five-a-day because they are classed as starchy carbohydrate foods.
Date: 15/08/2017
