(At least) 5 a day! #changeonething

Next update - (at least) 5 a day! Sounds simple, but most people do not actually eat five portions or fruit and vegetables a day.

Image via http://bit.ly/JF5dJg

Here are some tips to boost your fruit and veg intake!

• At breakfast, add fruit to cereal, porridge or lower-fat yoghurt. Try a handful of berries or a chopped banana. Add mushrooms or tomatoes to scrambled eggs.
• Frozen fruit and veg count towards your 5 A DAY. It only takes a couple of minutes to microwave some frozen peas, mixed vegetables or mini corn on the cob.
• Canned fruit and veg count too. It’s healthier to choose fruit canned in juice rather than sugary syrup, and veg canned in water without added salt or sugar.
• It’s easy to add fresh, frozen or canned fruit and veg to meals. Sprinkle sweetcorn or pineapple chunks on top of a thin-based pizza, or liven up soups and sauces with a handful of kidney beans, peas or sweetcorn.
• Add fruit and veg to your favourite meals. Try adding chopped carrots to Bolognese sauce, sprinkle chopped red peppers on your pasta, or mix veg such as peas into mashed potato to make it even tastier. Add tomatoes to your omelette or mushrooms to your next stir-fry.
• Add some crunch to your sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber or grated carrots.
• Sticks of cucumber, peppers and carrot, and cauliflower or broccoli florets are delicious with dips such as salsa or lower-fat cheese spread.
• Have a salad or vegetable side dish with your main meal. If you’re having shepherd's pie, have some peas too. If you’re having a roast dinner, add some carrots or broccoli to your plate.
• One glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit juice counts towards your 5 A DAY. Fruit or vegetable juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day.

Source: NHS http://bit.ly/1dktaRv

Quick and Easy "hidden veg" Spaghetti Bolognese

Sometimes it's quite difficult to get your little (and big!) ones to eat the recommended 5 portions of vegetables and fruit per day.  I've never really struggled with my son as he will eat basically anything - except for chips, but that's no hardship!

My daughter, however, can be very fussy - apparently she takes after me but I can't see it really.... !  So anyway, this is how we sneak extra vegetables into our spaghetti Bolognese.

Ingredients
500g minced beef (or lamb) as lean as possible
1 onion, very finely chopped or grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, very finely chopped or grated
50g ish of mushrooms, wiped and chopped as small as possible
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
2 tins of chopped plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
 Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
approx 300g pasta - spaghetti or penne is best (but my daughter does like "butterflies!)
Grated cheese to sprinkle on top if required

1. Fry the mince until browned in a large frying pan - I don't use oil, just start on a lower heat to allow some of the fat to escape from the meat, then there's enough to fry in.  Add the onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes more.
2. Add the carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika and chilli powder and mix well.
3. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the veg is soft and "disappeared"!  Add salt and black pepper to taste.
4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta and grate the cheese.
5. Serve and enjoy with a green side salad!

There are 5 different vegetables in this recipe, excluding the salad, so a great boost for your vegetable intake.  Grating the veg is the best way to make them disappear - just mind your fingers though!

For the fruit side of things, in order to get my children to try different fruits, we like to experiment by making fruit kebabs.  Just buy a variety of fruits (most supermarkets stock a good and ever-changing reasonably priced exotic fruits) and let them choose, try and make fruit kebabs on cocktail sticks (make sure you supervise little ones with the cocktail sticks).  As a treat, you can drizzle with chocolate sauce and serve with ice cream!  Enjoy!

I am entering this recipe into Mummys Little Peeps healthy eating competition in attempt to win a £50 Sainsbury's voucher.