Fruit and vegetables

What is a portion of fruit and vegetables ?

A portion of fruit and vegetables represents approximately 80-100g : an average-sized tomato, apple or peach; a bowl of soup; 2 apricots; 2 mandarins; 2 handfuls of strawberries, raspberries, grapes or chopped vegetables, etc.

How ?

5 portions can represent 3 portions of vegetables and 2 portions of fruit, split between the main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and if you're feeling peckish between meals.

You can eat them raw, cooked or in the form of soup.

Choose the most natural form possible:  prefer apples to applesauce or bananas to smoothies.

Why ?

Fruit and vegetables form the basis of our diet and their positive effects on health are proven. They contain lots of water, vitamins, minerals and fibre. They are relatively low in calories and help us stay in shape.

How can I increase my fruit and vegetable intake ?

• Unprocessed frozen fruit and vegetables can be useful and easy to prepare.
• Combine raw vegetable sticks with a cream cheese or houmous dip.
• Eat vegetable soup for lunch or dinner.
• Try new vegetable recipes to experiment with new flavours.
• You can incorporate vegetables into lots of dishes: pizza, lasagne, pasta, sauces, gratins, soufflés, pancakes, cakes, etc.
• Opt for sandwiches with raw vegetables, pizza with mushrooms or other vegetables, pasta with tomato sauce, and snacks that contain vegetables.

• Add some fruit to your breakfast: whole or diced, with cereal or yoghurt.
• Mid-morning, eat a piece of fruit to keep you going until lunchtime.
• Have a piece of fruit for dessert or as an afternoon snack.

"Liquid" fruits

Shop-bought fruit juice and smoothies can contain a lot of sugar.

Homemade smoothies contain several types of fruit (e.g. an orange, an apple and a banana) and therefore the sugar present in all 3 fruits. It's recommended that you consume a maximum of one small glass of smoothie per day.

Eating fruit is much more filling due to the large amount of fibre and the fact that you have to chew it.