Not As Green As I Am Cabbage Looking

While I’m enjoying a Christmas away from home I can’t help but notice something is missing. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed it missing while away and its not something that I would usually be too concerned over, but it is conspicuous by its absence and because its not available I am finding it beginning to dominate my every waking thought.

It’s the humble veg… and I don’t mean spuds and most certainly don’t mean the curled up salad that sits apologetically alongside your steak or heaven forbid, burger… and who ever thought it right to serve cress and lettuce as a companion to cooked meat anyway? No I refer to veg as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beans or courgettes. It seems that restaurants no longer supply vegetables in any quantity or variation. If you are lucky enough to have a meal that includes the rare root, tuber or legume it invariably will be some over cooked carrots slices or bullet hard peas. Now I’m not a vegetarian, I enjoy all types of food, but a meal isn’t a meal without vegetables.

What makes it seem even more peculiar is that we are constantly being force fed the benefits of fruit and veg, (did you like what I did there?), and so you would think that as a matter of course (sorry), they would be a major element in a meal. Not eating enough of the stuff can lead to a number of unpleasant and unwanted conditions and more worryingly a number of serious life threatening diseases. High levels of fruit and veg consumption can lower the risk of bowel and throat cancer and cardiovascular disease.

A study published earlier this year found that on average a Briton eats 258g of fruit and veg a day compared with a European average of 386g which is still below the World Health Organisations recommended level of 400g.

The 5-a-day campaign has been promoting the benefits of fruit and veg for a while now but what exactly makes up a unit? It’s never been explained to me. Is it one carrot, five carrots, or an entire allotment load? I have never been able to find a satisfactory explanation. Manufacturers are keen to point out this product or that product ‘contributes towards your 5-a-day’, but do I need to consume just an eye-full or the entire carton.

Well, at long last I’ve found the answer. It’s a list published by the NHS that breaks down what portion sizes make up one of your 5-a-day and it makes for interesting reading. For instance, 1 medium sized apple is a unit, but you need to consume 3 whole apricots for an equivalent dose and if cherries are your fruit of preference you’ll need to scoff at least 14 of the little blighters.

Equally one 150 ml glass of fruit juice counts as a unit yet if you drink more, no matter how much more, it will only ever count as a single unit. Vegetables are just as confusing. 2 spears of broccoli will count as one of the elusive 5-a-day and yet you’ll need to trough 8 florets of cauliflower. Likewise a two inch piece of cucumber will satisfy and yet you’ll need to gorge half a large courgette for the same satisfaction level. Where is the logic in that?

Apparently the logic is that a portion or unit, i.e. your 1-a-day, is 80g in weight. Great, eureka, at last some reasoning… but hang on, surely this simplistic regime based purely on weight must ignore the quality and content of each morsel. How can 80g of cucumber give you the same chemical benefit of say an orange? Still confused? I know I am. I guess I’ll just have to stick to my Mother’s old adage, ‘everything in moderation’. It certainly works for her.