This week is National Nutrition Week in Australia and we are challenging you to try for five.
Poor diet lacking in fruit and vegetables is one of the most common modifiable risk factors for several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Most Australians don't eat the recommended five serves of vegetables every day. Yet, eating five serves of vegetables every day is a simple thing that we can do to help manage existing health conditions or to reduce the risk of chronic disease and lead a generally healthier life.
Fitting in five serves of vegetables each day is much easier than it sounds.
- Focus on the vegetables you like
- Try to choose seasonal (they're cheaper)
- Add vegetables to as many meals and snacks as you can
- Aim to have half of your plate filled with vegetables at dinner time
- Eat a rainbow - the more colours the better
One serve:
- 1 tomato
- 1 carrot
- 1 cup of raw salad
- ½ cup cooked vegetables
- ½ a medium-sized potato
- ½ cup of cooked/canned legumes (lentils, chick peas, baked beans)
Five serves:
- Breakfast: ½ cup of cooked mushrooms with your eggs
- Lunch: 1 cup of salad on your wrap or sandwich (lettuce, carrot, cucumber, tomato, beet root)
- Afternoon tea: 1 cup of chopped carrot and celery sticks with your favourite dips
- Dinner: ½ cup of steam broccoli and ½ of a potato
Additional resources:
- CFA Healthy Choices Guideline
- CFA Healthy Eating Initiative
- Nutrition Australia Try for 5 Website has a range of resources including cooking and shopping tips and recipes to help you get your daily five.
- Cook Well, Eat Well easy cooking hacks & recipes:
5 ways with lentils | 5 ways with potatoes | Sweet potato wedges recipe | Cauliflower and bean burrito bowl
