Eat five portions of these fruits and veggies a day for health blood pressure levels
Eat at least five different portions of the following each day. A portion is 80 g – roughly the size of your fist.
• A dessert bowl of green salad
• Three heaped tablespoons of peas
• Three heaped tablespoons of pulses (chickpeas, lentils, beans and so on)
• One medium-sized fruit (apple, orange, pear or banana)
• Two small fruits (plums or apricots)
• One slice of a large fruit (melon, pineapple or mango)
• Two to three tablespoons of berries or grapes
• One slice of a large fruit (melon, pineapple or mango)
• A glass (150 ml) of fruit or vegetable juice
• One tablespoon of dried fruit
Not all fruits and veggies count…
It’s important to note this. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yawns, cassava and plantain are all veggies but they don’t count towards your five-day total. However, you must still include them twice or thrice weekly as part of your healthy eating.
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Pulses, fruit juice and veggie juice (green juice) do count towards your five-day total. However, they only count as one portion no matter how much you eat or drink.
How to get the most from your fruits and veggies
•
Don’t buy fruit and vegetable dishes that come with sauces. They often contain a lot of
fat, salt and sugar.
• Dried, frozen and tinned products can be just as good as fresh, but watch out for added salt, sugar or fats.
• Vary the types of fruit and vegetables you eat. Each has different health benefits and it will keep your meals interesting. By eating a wide range of fruit and vegetables, you will ensure that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs.
• Don’t add sugar to fruit or salt to vegetables when you cook or serve them.
• Try to eat fresh fruit and vegetables as soon as possible. They will lose their nutrients over time, so if you want to store your ingredients for a while, it is best to freeze them or buy frozen packets.
• Avoid leaving vegetables open to the air, light or heat if they have been cut. Always cover and chill them, but don't soak them because the vitamins and minerals can dissolve away.
• Vegetables keep more of their vitamins and minerals if you lightly steam or bake them, instead of boiling or frying them.
• If you boil vegetables, use as little water as possible to help keep the vitamins and minerals in them.
• Experiment with other ways of cooking vegetables, such as roasting or grilling them, for new tastes and flavours.
• Stir-fries are great for getting lots of vegetables into one meal. So are freshly-made soups.
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