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.