Just how much fruit and veg do you eat in a day?
Posted by LadyDragonfly1 on Jul 18, 2007 · Member since Feb 2003 · 600 posts
I try to limit starchy foods and protein, BUT when I eat fruit or veggies my limits are the contours of my stomach. It is not unusual to eat 4 to 6 cups in a single day and sometimes more, I find.
How much do you eat in the way of plant matter outside of protein sources like beans and tofu , and grains?
During the summer, which it is now here in good ol' Washington, I eat about seven or so servings of fruit a day and around four servings of veg. In the winter I usually eat more veggies than fruits.
I, too, try to limit my starches because I feel like they fill me up too much, but with fruits and veggies I have no limits.
i go entire days of only starches and entire days of only fruits and veggies.
my diet is very inconsistent. often depending on when i last went shopping, etc.
In the summer, I eat a ton of fruit, probably 8-10 servings a day. I eat about 6-7 servings of fruit a day in the seasons other than summer. I eat 7-8 servings of vegetables all everyday. I do not eat a lot of carbs either. I always feel very sick and heavy after eating too many refined carbs like white flour, white sugar etc, they just make me feel gross. There isnt even any white flour or sugar in my house at the moment. I eat tofu about 2-3 times per week.
i go entire days of only starches and entire days of only fruits and veggies.
my diet is very inconsistent. often depending on when i last went shopping, etc.
Ditto, Hespedal! Right now I am kind of doing an experiment of how long I can go without a trip to the grocery store. It's getting hard. I have a LOT of dried beans and grains, but I'm getting low on fruits and veggies. I think I may be able to make it one more day...
i go entire days of only starches and entire days of only fruits and veggies.
my diet is very inconsistent. often depending on when i last went shopping, etc.
Ditto, Hespedal! Right now I am kind of doing an experiment of how long I can go without a trip to the grocery store. It's getting hard. I have a LOT of dried beans and grains, but I'm getting low on fruits and veggies. I think I may be able to make it one more day...
ha ha. it is never an experiment for me... i just get too lazy to go. i have a few that are closer but the trader joe's (where i do my bigger trips) is like 4 miles away down a road that is always windy and i ride my bike...
Does tomatoe sauce count? How about ketcup? ;D Ummm I probably get 3 servings of fruit & 4 of veggies each day....Some days more.
For me, 2 - 3 servings of fruit and berries a day (I really should increase this). I'm big on salads and they are always huge and loaded with various veggies so I'm not quite sure how to count that. Maybe 2 - 3 servings all by themselves, and then maybe an additional serving or two of other veggies throughout the day.
Let's see. Yesterday for breakfast I had a banana and a peach with my soy yogurt for breakfast. Lunch was Tasty Bite Brand Punjab Eggplant that was heat and serve. http://www.tastybite.com/product_p/i00004pe.htm I also nuked a cup container of stir fry veggies. Midafternoon snacks were two apples. Dinner was the Pasta with Garbanzos and Spinach from this site. That's all I ate yesterday.
Today I had HEB Healthy Heart brand oatmeal with blueberries and I added a scoop each of ground flax seeds and goji berries to it and a banana. I plan to go home for lunch and have a Boca burger and make a large (at least six different veggies) salad. Dinner is going to be falafel and something. I haven't figured out what that something is going to be. I don't have any soy plain yogurt so making the cucumber sauce suggested on the package is not going to happen. I know there's been a falafel thread going on so I guess I'll comb it for ideas!
I'd love to think I get my five a day, but it's hard to tell. I too am pretty inconsistent. I know I get at least two, because I have juice and a piece of fruit with my breakfast cereal but other than that... well I'd be pleased if I got in five a day, every day.
I know I do not eat close to enough.
The new Canada Food Guide came out recently. It appears much healthier than the previous one.
They suggest for women between the ages of 19 -50:
7-8 vegetables and fruits a day
6-7 grain products a day
2 milk and alternatives
2 meat and alternatives
Men between 19 -50
8-10 vegetables and fruits a day
8 grain products a day
2 milk and alternatives
3 meat and alternatives
Females 51+
7 vegetables and fruits
6 grain products
3 milk and alternatives
2 Meat and alternatives
Males 51+
7 vegetables and fruits
7 grain products
3 milk and alternatives
3 meat and alternatives
Teens 14 to 18
Females
7 Vegetables and fruit
6 grain products
3-4 milk and alternatives
2 meat alternatives
Males
8 vegetables and fruits
7 grain products
3-4 milk and alternatives
3 meat and alternatives
Children (both girls and boys)
2-3 year olds
4 vegetables and fruits
3 grain products
2 milk and alternatives
1 meat and alternatives
4-8 years old
5 vegetables and fruits
4 grain products
2 milk and alternatives
1 meat and alternative
9-13 year olds
6 vegetables and fruits
6 grain products
3-4 milk and alternatives
1-2 meat and alternatives
I am bad about eating fruit but I love it. I am home with Cali this week so am not eating well as I am just grabbing things to eat. Some days I have no fruit at all! :o
When I go back to work next week, I am going to make a little chart and tick off how many fruits and vegetables I have. I definitely want to increase the amount to at least meet the Canada Food Guide although I think more fruits and veggies could and should be eaten.
Here is the website if you want to read what they have to say: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide
i have been trying to eat more, its difficult to fit into my normal eating schedule when my boyfriend lives on homefries, seitan and noodles. last week i forced myself to add these things into our diet, i let him know what i was doing and he seemed all right with it. i bought kale, mustard greens, grapefruit, apples, and leeks. he hated the leeks and the kale. so ill try some others.
it just seems crazy that we've been vegan for about 4 years and have never really eaten that many fruits and veggies. i think i ate more when i was a meat eater at my parents house 8 years ago. they always had tons of fruit and veggies around.
Not nearly enough. But I use my parents as an excuse - the only veggies we have are the standard lettuce and tomato for burger toppings, and the occasional avocado when my mom makes guacamole.
For fruits, they stick to strawberries, overripe bananas (my mom makes banana bread because it's the only fruit my brother and dad will eat unless you count Fruit Loops), and that's it.
I do try to sneak in more when I'm at my friends' houses, though. I've tried buying my own veggies and stuff, but my mom gets mad and says I crowd the fridge and waste food because sometimes I can't eat it all before she decides it's bad and throws it away.
But on Sunday she let me have jarred pineapple! They're so good! I want to try a real pineapple someday. And coconut. That sounds so yummy! Is coconut any good?
After reading all of your guys responses, I'm kind of worried. I'm lucky to get in 4 or 5 servings of all the food I eat in an entire day! I really don't eat a lot. I'm feeling completely unhealthy right now...
i am sorry :(
i would think your family would like you eating more healthily. though, i understand not having a whole lot around the house.. my family isn't too healthy either. thank goodness i don't live at home anymore!
also, potatoes are NOT bad for you. maybe if you eat a ton but they are good for you. lot's of potassium.
I'm obsessed with grapes so i eat about a bag of grapes every day. I don't eat potatoes only once every 5 months since there not that good for you. I eat salads every day so about 4 cups of vegetables every day and starches not often at all. I can live off my salads because everyday there's a new kind of salad to try.
Potatoes are not unhealthy. It the cr*p people load them with that is. Butter, sour cream etc.
If you can, make sure you buy organic grapes as grapes are one of those fruits that just suck in pesticides like strawberries. Try to buy organic potatoes too as they appear to be in the top ten list of vegetables that suck in a lot of pesticides.
I think that potatoes have gotten bad press recently because of all the low-carb diets, but they've got lots of good stuff in them. I personally try to avoid them though because they're one of those foods that I can eat a lot of and end up feeling hungrier afterwards!
Lady Drangonfly, I just want to thank you for making this thread. It made me realize that I have not been eating as many fruits & veggies so now I'm going to make more of an effort. I just finished lunch & already today I've had as many servings as I did all day yesterday!
Not nearly enough. But I use my parents as an excuse - the only veggies we have are the standard lettuce and tomato for burger toppings, and the occasional avocado when my mom makes guacamole.
For fruits, they stick to strawberries, overripe bananas (my mom makes banana bread because it's the only fruit my brother and dad will eat unless you count Fruit Loops), and that's it.
I do try to sneak in more when I'm at my friends' houses, though. I've tried buying my own veggies and stuff, but my mom gets mad and says I crowd the fridge and waste food because sometimes I can't eat it all before she decides it's bad and throws it away.
But on Sunday she let me have jarred pineapple! They're so good! I want to try a real pineapple someday. And coconut. That sounds so yummy! Is coconut any good?
After reading all of your guys responses, I'm kind of worried. I'm lucky to get in 4 or 5 servings of all the food I eat in an entire day! I really don't eat a lot. I'm feeling completely unhealthy right now...
Aw, that's tough. I know how it goes. I'm fixing to go camping with my family right now and I'm bringing a cooler full of fresh fruits and vegetables so I know I'll have some there!
Could you maybe buy and keep some dried fruit around? At least that wouldn't go bad, and you only need to eat a small portion to make it a serving. Also, frozen fruits and veggies, maybe? Fruits are good in smoothies. Veggies are great to throw into stir fries or soups, or just by themselves and they stay good for a lot longer than fresh ones. There are a lot of blends of different vegetables available now frozen.
Also, I encourage you to try fresh pineapple! It's the best! And fresh coconut is really great with dried chili, salt, and lime juice on it.
I am ashaimed, I don't eat near as many vegetables as I should. I know, a vegan who doesn't care for vegetables. But I think I realize what it may be, I don't think I like COOKED vegetables because I absolutely lOVE hummas wraps with fresh lettuce, green pepper, cucumber and tomatoes...yumm. But for fruit, now it isn't un-heard of for me to eat four bananas and an apple in one day or a pound of cherries and two bananas, or an 1/8 of a full sized watermelon in one sitting. I love fruit. I like to eat a lot of protein, tofu, beans, nuts, and a lot of fruit. But as the previous reponse said: thanks for this thread because it reminds me that I need to step up my veggie intake. But is eating so much fruit okay? Can you eat too much fruit? I hope not, I love it so much, especially sinse I became vegan from vegetarian. I seem to crave fruit more now than I ever have before, but I have always loved fruit.