Are You Eating Enough Vegetables?

Written by rebeccah

Only 9% of Australians are including enough vegetables in their diet.

Food is our body’s fuel! Our bodies need a variety of sources of carbohydrates, fibre, protein and vitamins to stay healthy and energised.

Try for 5 encourages everyone to eat more vegetables – aiming for 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit each day!

Light green background with graphics of vegetables spread randomly around the image, including 2 pea pods, a red capsicum, 3 broccoli, an avocado cut in half, carrot, cucumber, mushroom cut in half and cabbage.

What does 5 serves of vegetables look like?

  • 75g or 1 cup of leafy greens or raw vegetables
  • 1/2 cup of legumes, sweet corn or cooked or frozen vegetables
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1/2 of a medium potato or sweet potato
  • A fist sized portion

What does 2 serves of fruit look like?

  • 150g or 1 medium apple, banana, pear or orange
  • 1 cup of berries or chopped fruit
  • 2 small apricots, kiwis or plums
  • A fist sized portion of any fruit

Get the most out of your vegetables by:

  • Planning meals ahead of time to ensure you’re including enough servings and to prevent buying take away last minute.
  • Storing them correctly so they last longer and won’t end up being thrown away.
  • Only buying what you’ll eat to prevent food wastage.
  • Find ways to use all parts of the vegetable to reduce wastage and save money.

Make an appointment with our Naturopath here or call us on 9651 5559 for nutrition and diet recommendations.

Find more of our health tips here.

Sources:

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013). Eat for health Australian dietary guidelines summary. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_book.pdf

Nutrition Australia. Try for 5. https://www.tryfor5.org.au/learn-contents-menu#use-it-all-anchor

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