Easy Read 5 A DAY. Eat more fruit and vegetables

Easy Read 5 A DAY Eat more fruit and vegetables

2 Just Eat More (fruit & veg)

What is in this leaflet? What is 5 A DAY? 4 Buying fruit and vegetables 10 Snacks and recipe ideas 12 8 easy ways to eat more fruit 22 and vegetables Your 5 A DAY diary 24 Where to find out more 26 3

What is 5 A DAY? You should try to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day (turn to page 6 to find out about portions). This is called 5 A DAY. You may know that eating fruit and vegetables is good for you. But do you know why? 3Fruit and vegetables help to keep you healthy. 3Most fruit and vegetables are low in fat and low in calories. Eating fruit and vegetables can help you stay a healthy weight. 3Eating fruit and vegetables can help to protect you from heart disease and some cancers these are diseases that can kill you. So it is really important to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Different fruits and vegetables are good for you for different reasons. It is important to eat lots of different sorts of fruit and vegetables to help keep you healthy. 4

This booklet has lots of great ideas to help make eating 5 A DAY easy and tasty too! 5

What is a portion? 1 portion of fruit and vegetables is: 1 medium piece of fruit or vegetables, like 1 apple, 1 banana or 1 carrot. 1 handful or 3 heaped tablespoons of small fruits or vegetables, like grapes, strawberries or peas. Look at the pictures on the opposite page. They all show 1 portion of fruit or vegetables. Remember, you should eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. These portion sizes are for adults. Young children can have smaller portions. 6

7

It is important for children to eat lots of fruit and vegetables too. Try giving your children pieces of fruit like grapes and strawberries, instead of sweets. 8

Do the fruit and vegetables have to be fresh? Your fruit and vegetables can be: Fresh Frozen Tinned Juice Dried. Fresh Frozen They all count towards your 5 A DAY. But juice only counts as 1 portion a day, however much you drink. Some foods like pasta sauces and ready meals have fruit and vegetables in them too. These can count towards your 5 A DAY. But these foods can also be high in things that are not good for you, like salt, sugar and fat, so you should not eat these foods too often. Tinned Juice Dried 9

Buying fruit and vegetables Different fruits and vegetables are ready to eat at different times of the year. This is called being in season. Look out for fruit and vegetables that are in season they will be cheaper and tastier. Remember, your fruit and vegetables can be frozen, tinned, juice and dried too. To help you be sure that you are buying food that counts towards your 5 A DAY, look out for the 5 A DAY label. When you see this label on a packet or tin, you can be sure that the food gives you at least 1 portion of fruit or vegetables. Just Eat More (fruit & veg) On some food packets you will see the portion symbol. The number of coloured squares tells you how many portions of fruit and vegetables are in 1 serving of the food. 1 portion 2 portions 10

The 5 A DAY label and portion symbol will help you to buy lots of different fruit and vegetables. But not all foods with fruit and vegetables will have the 5 A DAY label or portion symbol. So you can still buy your favourite fruit and vegetables too. 11

Snacks and recipe ideas Eating fruit and vegetables is not boring. Here are some great ideas for meals and snacks that are easy to make and tasty to eat. Why not try them? Snack Vegetable sticks This is enough for 1 person. This gives you 2 portions of your 5 A DAY. You will need: Half a red pepper 1 carrot Top tip: Other raw vegetables can make a quick and tasty snack. Try a handful of cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices. 12

2 portions What to do: Wash the vegetables. Cut the pepper in half. Put one half in the fridge to eat later. Chop off the stalk. Scrape out the seeds. Carefully slice the pepper into about 6 sticks. Peel the carrot. Cut the carrot in half. Carefully slice the halves of carrot into about 6 sticks each. 13

Meal Stir-fry This is enough for 2 people. This gives you 3 portions of your 5 A DAY. You will need: Half a red pepper 4 pieces of broccoli 6 baby sweetcorn 14 button mushrooms 2 handfuls of frozen beansprouts 1 teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil 1 lemon You can use different vegetables if you prefer why not use your favourites? Top tip: You can eat Stir-fry with rice or noodles for a bigger meal. 14

3 portions What to do: Wash all the vegetables. Chop the pepper in half. Put one half in the fridge to eat later. Chop off the stalk. Scrape out the seeds. Carefully slice the pepper into about 6 sticks. Chop the baby sweetcorn in half lengthways. Put all the vegetables by the hob ready to cook. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan for about 30 seconds. Put the pepper, broccoli, beansprouts and baby sweetcorn in the pan. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Stir for another 1 to 2 minutes. Put the vegetables onto 2 plates. Cut the lemon in half. Squeeze half of the lemon over the vegetables on both plates. 15

Meal Garden salad This is enough for 2 people. This gives you 2 portions of your 5 A DAY. You will need: Some lettuce leaves 2 tomatoes Half a cucumber You can use lots of different fruits and vegetables to make a salad. Add your favourites, like grated carrot, sweetcorn or avocado. 16 Top tip: Make a salad to go with your meal instead of having chips. Salad goes really well with lasagne, fish and pizza!

2 portions What to do: Wash the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. Break up the lettuce leaves and put the amount you want to eat into 2 bowls. Cut the tomatoes into slices and put them on top of the lettuce leaves. Cut the cucumber into slices and add them to the tomatoes and lettuce leaves. 17

Dessert Fruit salad This is enough for 2 people. This gives you 3 portions of your 5 A DAY. You will need: 1 apple 7 strawberries 2 kiwi fruit 1 handful of sultanas 7 slices of tinned peaches 1 glass of apple juice You can use different fruits if you prefer why not use your favourites? Top tip: Add low fat yoghurt for a special fruit salad. 18

3 portions What to do: Wash the apple and strawberries. Cut the apple in half. Cut off the stalk and the pips. Cut the apple into small pieces. Cut off the stems of the strawberries. Cut the strawberries in half. Peel the kiwi fruit. Cut the kiwi fruit into small pieces. Open the tin of peach slices. Pour away the juice from the peach slices. Put all the fruit into a large bowl. Pour the apple juice over the fruit. Cover the bowl with a plate and keep it in the fridge until you want to eat it. 19

Dessert Fruity kebabs This is enough for 2 people. This gives you 2 portions of your 5 A DAY. You will need: 4 wooden skewers 8 strawberries 1 apple 1 banana 12 pieces of tinned pineapple chunks You can use different fruits if you prefer why not use your favourites? 20 Top tip: You can eat the fruity kebabs cold. Or you can warm them under the grill. Put the grill on to a medium heat. Cook the kebabs for 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn them over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

2 portions What to do: Wash the strawberries and apple. Cut off the stems of the strawberries. Cut the apple in half. Cut off the stalk and the pips. Cut the apple into thick pieces. Peel the banana. Cut the banana into thick pieces. Open the tin of pineapple chunks. Pour away the juice from the pineapple. Put the pineapple chunks into a bowl. Take one of the wooden skewers. Hold the skewer at the bottom with the point at the top. Push the pieces of fruit onto the skewers in any order you like. Do this with all of the skewers. 21

8 easy ways to eat more fruit and vegetables Breakfast Add a sliced banana or a tablespoon of raisins to your breakfast cereal. Have a glass of fruit juice with your breakfast. Morning snack Eat some celery sticks, carrot sticks or a handful of cherry tomatoes. Lunch Add some cucumber, tomatoes, grated carrot or lettuce to your sandwiches. 22 If you have a hot lunch, have vegetables or a side salad too.

Afternoon snack Eat a piece of fruit instead of chocolate or crisps. Dinner Have 2 different vegetables or a salad with your dinner. Have some fruit for dessert, like some tinned peaches, a fresh pear or a fruit salad. Have you had your 5 A DAY today? 23

Your 5 A DAY diary Use this diary to help you eat more 3 fruit and vegetables. Every time you eat a portion of fruit or vegetables, put a tick in the box. Or you can write or draw the fruit or vegetables you eat. Monday Tuesday Wednesday 5 Portions 4 Portions 3 Portions 2 Portions 1 Portion 24 Look at page 7 to see what a portion is.

Remember, you should try to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Have you had your 5 A DAY today? You can print more 5 A DAY diaries from the website www.5aday.nhs.uk Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 25

Where to find out more To find out more about 5 A DAY: Telephone the Department of Health 020 7210 4850 See the website www.5aday.nhs.uk To order more copies of this leaflet or other 5 A DAY leaflets: Telephone: 08701 555 455 Fax: 01623 724 524 Email: Or write to: doh@prolog.uk.com Department of Health Publications PO Box 777 London SE1 6XH 26

Just Eat More (fruit & veg)

Just Eat More (fruit & veg) Produced by the Department of Health, Crown copyright 2005 270385