Mar 11 2008
How Much is a Portion?
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We are told that we should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day to ensure our health and well being. This is a minimum amount to help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and other serious illnesses. However there is a great deal of confusion over just how much is a portion and whether frozen, dried or canned fruit and vegetables count. The simple answer to that is that they do count, as do juiced fruits and vegetables and it doesn’t matter if they are cooked or raw.
So how much is a portion - the following list is just a guideline - and do remember five a day is a minimum amount!
- A whole medium-sized fruit - eg, an apple, banana or orange
- A slice of a large fruit, such as melon, or pineapple
- An adults handful of grapes or two handfuls of berries such as Blueberries or Raspberries
- A tablespoon of dried fruit such as sultanas or dried cranberries
- Approx 100ml of fruit or vegetable juice
- A 200 gm tin of fruit - preferably not sweetened
- A small bowl of salad
- Approx 100 gms of vegetables - eg, peas, carrots or cabbage
- Approx 6 dried apricots or a similar amount of other dried fruit such as apples, peasrs or peaches
The vegetables and fruits in a cooked dish generally work out at about one portion, so for example the onions, mushrooms, beans and tomatoes in a chili would equate to one of your daily portions. A bowl of homemade vegetable soup would be about a portion as well.
Generally speaking you should only count one juice portion a day as you don’t get the dietary fibre that you would with the whole fruit. Drink more by all means but only count it as one portion.
