Fruit and Veg

[Alpinestarhero]

How much fruit and veg do people eat on here? I try and have some veg with each meal, but I dont eat alot of fruit...although I'm trying to change that. Maria eats alot of fruit, which is making me change my eating habits.

I just wondered what everyone elses attitude to eating fruit and veg is (I dont want to get into a debate about healthy eating etc but i expect it will!). I'm hoping that i'll perk up a bit more by eating more fruit and veg as I gain other nutrients that I wont get from biscuits and chocolate :lol:

[timwilky]

Don't eat fruit, it makes me ill

I do eat a lot of veg with the exception of sprouts and broad beans which are the work of the devil.

[Sir Trev]

I'm munching an apple right now as it's lunchtime. One or two pieces of fruit a day is normal for me, plus salad or vegetables with dinner.

If you want encouragement to eat more fresh stuff try growing it. You don't need much space to grow tomatoes or lettuce and if you invested a little time growing them you appreciate them more. Plus the taste of properly fresh and ripe stuff is miles better than the stuff in the supermarket which is artificially ripened (sometimes).

[Jabba]

sprouts...........which are the work of the devil.

Sprouts are pure ambrosia :-D

So long as they're not overcooked otherwise I'm "lifting the duvet" all night.

[carty]

I eat a fair amount of veg plus some fruit. Veg and salad are better for you as most fruit contains a lot of natural sugars.

[timwilky]

With me it tends to be the acids in fruit, they burn my throat and stomach. berries send my face huge and blotchy, followed by projectile vomiting

[The Guru]

I usually have grapes or strawberries at work everyday. Been taking whole raw carrots and chomping on them aswell.

[CoolGirl]

since we started getting a veg box delivered every week we eat loads more veg. That was a couple of years ago and still going strong. Hardly ever waste anything and both Mike and Isaac love it.

[amnesia]

Veg every day, and freshly cooked meals too.

The only fruit I eat is raisens at work...unless the jam in donuts counts as fruit.

The garden landscaping starts on monday - and part of that will be a large greenhouse so we can grow peppers, chillis, courgettes and other veggie type things.

[glsuk1970]

I eat a fair bit of fruit & veg and most days I'll reach the "5 a day" target. There's loads of decent fruit & veg around this time of year and we'll often go to a local Farm shop where you can pick your own fruit.

Munching on an apple day-in day-out can get quite dull so I sometimes buy loads of differnet fruit (apples, grapes, melon, pineapple, pears, strawberries etc) chop them into pieces, toss them in a big bowl, cover them with orange or pineapple or passion fruit juice (sometimes all three). It'll keep for a few days in the fridge and it's great to have for breakfast with a blob of natural yoghurt on the top!

[krhall]

I've just had a chocolate orange and 3 pints of magners does that count?

[hindle8907]

I dont Eat any Veg What so ever ..... i dont like any of it ... the closest thing i eat to veg is a potatos.

i eat quite alot of fruit though .

[Tara]

since we started getting a veg box delivered every week we eat loads more veg. That was a couple of years ago and still going strong. Hardly ever waste anything and both Mike and Isaac love it.
we are looking into this at the moment as we don't tend to eat much veg but want to.

i eat alot of fruit tho each day at moment tangerines are my fruit of choice but this changes weekly.

[Kate Moss]

I hardly eat any fruit or veg, some bannans maybe and veg with roast dinners but thats about it...terrible I know.

This thread has made me feel guilty for eating too much crap, i shall now go shopping for fruit and veg!


Delivery veg box ? That sounds handy, never heard of this before.

[Gazza77]

I often think I don't eat enough, but we spend about £15-£20 a week at the greengrocers between the two of us and very little if anything gets wasted, so I must eat more than I think.

[Bluewolf]

.

[CoolGirl]

Delivery veg box ? That sounds handy, never heard of this before.

I get mine from www.riverford.co.uk (http://www.riverford.co.uk) but there are others out there.

[Mr Speirs]

Until about a year ago the only vegetables I ate were potatoes and it was very common for me to seperate any vegetables in my dinner i.e. I would sift through Lasagne or Spag Bol to extract the onions out of them.

I still don't eat very much but I have learnt to just eat onions and carrots (as long as the carrots are grated) that are already in my food.

And it's not the taste of vegetables I don't like, it is the texture, the crunch that is still there even when your teeth are tightly closed.

When I was in school I used to panic when I had a vegetable in my mouth and it used to make me gip.

Fruit I don't mind at all but I still don't eat very much, mainly due to how quickly fruit deteriorates. Ill eat grapes and strawberries, apples, bananas etc but only on the day the fruit was bought after that it just feels a bit weird.

Huh??? what's that white jacket for? :)

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

I eat lots of fruit - my lunch at work usually consists of a sandwich plus two or more varieties of fruit (i.e. an apple, nectarine and kiwi). Or, if Im feeling creative, I'll quickly make a fruit salad to go with my sandwich. When theres no fruit left in my house I tend to swipe a tin of canned fruit from the cupboard - not as nice but still healthier than chocolate :D

I eat msot fruit apart from banana's and passion fruit. Passion fruit is bloody awful - might as well eat rocks judging by how crunchy it is :rolleyes:

I only eat biscuits or a chocolate in the evenings after dinner or with a cuppa tea.

I can't bear raw veg though, the only thing I can eat raw is peppers...

[Tara]

I get mine from www.riverford.co.uk (http://www.riverford.co.uk) but there are others out there.
Thanks Debs

[fizzwheel]

I am trying to eat my five a day, but I'm a fussy eater and faddy one day I like say Apples and the next day I dont want them.

I'm getting better. At work I try to eat more heathily. Banna's, apples and grapes are what I normally eat, with Potato's, carrots and a bit of brocolli with my main meal. I really love Roasted Sweet Potato thats my favourite veg.

[CoolGirl]

Thanks Debs

they do baby bags as well, so you can buy stuff to puree.

[CoolGirl]

I am trying to eat my five a day, but I'm a fussy eater and faddy one day I like say Apples and the next day I dont want them.

I'm getting better. At work I try to eat more heathily. Banna's, apples and grapes are what I normally eat, with Potato's, carrots and a bit of brocolli with my main meal. I really love Roasted Sweet Potato thats my favourite veg.

with apostrophes like those, ever considered a career as a greenrgocer?:wink: (you can tell I'm trying to write an essay, can't you?!)

[Tara]

they do baby bags as well, so you can buy stuff to puree.
i'll have a look when i get in thanks Debs

[Wideboy]

i eat fair bit of fruit, not veg tho i hate most veg hence eating loads of fruit................. but im still a fat barsteward :smt011

[Tara]

you don't look fat on your photos

[Wideboy]

tar very much :smt053

[gruntygiggles]

Hmmm, I do cook a fair bit of veg for Stretch and I, but most of it is hidden in the foods I cook. I used to hate veg as a kid and so ittook me a while to get used to cooking them when I was in college, but then I discovered how many things you can do with veg.

Mr. Spiers, I have a whole book full of recipes in which you don;t even know the veg is there, let alone see or feel it in your mouth! Let me know if you want any of them.

As for fruit, it doesn't really sit well with me...the natural sugars and acidity in some fruits play havoc with my stomach, so I tend to make smoothies to take the edge off, have fruit with cheescake so that I can make the cheesecake nice and tart to counter the sweetness or I'll use fruits in savoury dishes where I can.

[keithd]

today i have had

apple
pear
banana
carrots

have that every day

also today cucumber in a cheese and cucumber sarnie

veg, probably 3 or 4 times a week. my body REALLY does not like it if i've not eaten veg in a few days.

[Bri w]

I love veg, and fruit but i'm lazy. Most of my meals are 5 min 'Dings'.

Breakfast is probably my healthiest meal. Chopped banana, raisens, mango on Wheetibix followed by a yoghurt.

Xmas lunch, cabbage, sprouts, roasties, peas, carrots OH Yes! and a bit of meat too i guess.

[Alpinestarhero]

Wow, i didnt expect so many replies to my thread :D Some ideas here for me to keep up eating fruit and veg. I vaugly remember eating raw carrots as a kid, pinching them when my mum wasnt looking. I think i liked them so I might start eating them again :D like maria, I like raw peppers too

I cant do onions, they have a habit of making my very nauseous...frightening for maria when im sat up in bed at 2am, with sweats and shakes :lol:

[Von Teese]

I always cook a veg with every meal, I never do ready-meals and like Grunty, I love my cooking and am always trying to be creative.

Miss A*, apparently the more crunchy the food the better it is for you!

Things like broccoli and asparagus and cauliflower (which I steam),I will usually do a cheese sauce for.
Carrots, I usually boil them (not for too long) and put a teaspoon of set honey in the water while they are cooking ( I do this with peas too).

I will cook corgettes in the oven with water to cover in a glass dish and a knob of butter.

I am also in love with Butternut (being south african). Next time you have a roast you can slice them up, put some cinnamon on them and roast them in the pan with your meat and roast potatoes (I do this with sweet potatoes too but no cinnamon)
Butternut can also be cut up, boiled then scooped out and mashed up with a knob of butter and some black peppercorns ground over it.

I loooove aubergine, I either grill this in the grill pan with some olive oil which I have cloves of garlic in or I make a batter (naughty naughty) and deep fry them (Mr VT's dad loves these)

Ive also tried mashed celeriac which was nice and often like to do chinese stir fry....

[-Ralph-]

Maria eats alot of fruit, which is making me change my eating habits.

Women have a way of doing that. I married a French woman, not sure if I'll live longer because of the improved diet, or shorter due to the added stress.

Yes, I eat lots of fruit and veg, but that's because I have the veg put down in front of me and the fruit thrown at me.

[gruntygiggles]

+1 on all VT's points. There are ways in which you can get the most out of the nutrients and vitamins that are in veg.

One of the most important things you can learn to do if you want to get the most from your veg is cook it right. In potatoes, which pretty much everyone loves.....cook them with the skin on. Whether you are mashing, boiling, frying, baking.....leave the skins on and when cooked, allow to cool a little and then peel. All of the nutrients are in the skins of potatoes, so doing this allows those nutrients to leach into the flesh and if you want to be super good, you can even steam them. My only exception to this rule is when doing a gratin. Then I peel first as I add the sliced potatoes raw....but I wash the skins and put them in the cream/milk to heat up, so do still get some flavour and nutrition from them....better than nothing eh!

Carrots are great vichy style.....you lose NO nutrients this way and Stretch LOVES them. Peel and cut into strips like chips. Put them in a deep pan with 100ml water, put a lid on and cook until they've soaked up the water. Then, another 50ml of water, 1 tbsp brown sugar and a knob of butter or low fat marg if you want and cook down until there is no water left and they are glazed and yummy....these go great with Beef Wellington, roast dinners etc.

The single best way to eat LOADS of veg without having to bite into it though is soups and again.....I have sooooo many recipes if you want any. Blitz them down and you don't know what's in them....lol

[gruntygiggles]

Women have a way of doing that. I married a French woman, not sure if I'll live longer because of the improved diet, or shorter due to the added stress.

Yes, I eat lots of fruit and veg, but that's because I have the veg put down in front of me and the fruit thrown at me.

I'm doing someting wrong.....Dan goes and buys his own fruit and I throw arctic rolls at him....lol

[Tara]

+1 on all VT's points. There are ways in which you can get the most out of the nutrients and vitamins that are in veg.

One of the most important things you can learn to do if you want to get the most from your veg is cook it right. In potatoes, which pretty much everyone loves.....cook them with the skin on. Whether you are mashing, boiling, frying, baking.....leave the skins on and when cooked, allow to cool a little and then peel. All of the nutrients are in the skins of potatoes, so doing this allows those nutrients to leach into the flesh and if you want to be super good, you can even steam them. My only exception to this rule is when doing a gratin. Then I peel first as I add the sliced potatoes raw....but I wash the skins and put them in the cream/milk to heat up, so do still get some flavour and nutrition from them....better than nothing eh!

Carrots are great vichy style.....you lose NO nutrients this way and Stretch LOVES them. Peel and cut into strips like chips. Put them in a deep pan with 100ml water, put a lid on and cook until they've soaked up the water. Then, another 50ml of water, 1 tbsp brown sugar and a knob of butter or low fat marg if you want and cook down until there is no water left and they are glazed and yummy....these go great with Beef Wellington, roast dinners etc.

The single best way to eat LOADS of veg without having to bite into it though is soups and again.....I have sooooo many recipes if you want any. Blitz them down and you don't know what's in them....lol

Vichy carrots were one of the first recipes they taught us when i did my 7061/7062 at College

[Alpinestarhero]

How can I make a good tomato soup? I like it nice and thick and with tomatoe bits, not just some sort of cream like texture like you get out of a can. When I went to kew gardens and the science meuseum, they had really nice tomato soup

[Tara]

How can I make a good tomato soup? I like it nice and thick and with tomatoe bits, not just some sort of cream like texture like you get out of a can. When I went to kew gardens and the science meuseum, they had really nice tomato soup

don't over blend it when you make it - i have a great recipe for it at home i'll PM it you later if you like.

[Alpinestarhero]

don't over blend it when you make it - i have a great recipe for it at home i'll PM it you later if you like.

yes pleassseeeee :cheers:

[Tara]

I'll dig it out for you when i get in :D

[gruntygiggles]

don't over blend it when you make it - i have a great recipe for it at home i'll PM it you later if you like.


+1.......I tend to cook it for hours so that the toms cook down and sweeten, but the soup stays unblended and I never use cream in soups. For tomato soup, I cook it for ages then peel, de-seed and chop a few fresh toms to put in for the last 8-10 mins of cooking for the texture and freshness that goes with the smooth sweetness of the soup. Also, where you can, use fresh basil and not too much. Too much basil is what can make the soup repeat on you.

[Tara]

+1.......I tend to cook it for hours so that the toms cook down and sweeten, but the soup stays unblended and I never use cream in soups. For tomato soup, I cook it for ages then peel, de-seed and chop a few fresh toms to put in for the last 8-10 mins of cooking for the texture and freshness that goes with the smooth sweetness of the soup. Also, where you can, use fresh basil and not too much. Too much basil is what can make the soup repeat on you.

another way is to roast them first, i agree i don't use cream for soup only sometimes in the garnish i think it makes them very rich. yep fresh basil is the way

[gruntygiggles]

another way is to roast them first, i agree i don't use cream for soup only sometimes in the garnish i think it makes them very rich. yep fresh basil is the way


Mmmmm, roasted is gorgeous. I have four tomato soup recipes, but the roasted one I use roasted peppers in as well so didn't know if A*H would like that.

Getting hungry now....lol, but getting chinese take out tonight, so that'll be something to look forward to!

[Tara]

Mmmmm, roasted is gorgeous. I have four tomato soup recipes, but the roasted one I use roasted peppers in as well so didn't know if A*H would like that.

Getting hungry now....lol, but getting chinese take out tonight, so that'll be something to look forward to!

that sounds so good and the chinese too lucky you

i am having med veg again tonight

[gruntygiggles]

that sounds so good and the chinese too lucky you

i am having med veg again tonight


Try this:-

1 chorizo sausage, chopped into chunks and fried, then set aside.

1 onion chopped and fried gently til tender, add 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander and 1 clove crushed garlic. Fry for a minute, then add 1 can chopped tomatoes or cooked down fresh tomatoes and 1 pint chicken stock. Add a can of butter beans and a can of black beans or whatever you have in the cupboard and simmer for 20 mins. Then add 2 chopped spring onions, cook for another two minutes and ladel into bowls. Put the chorizo chunks into the bowls, pour a little olive oil and a squeeze a teaspoon of lime juice over and finish with a bit of fresh coriander.

It's amazing either as a winter or summer soup and deceptively filling!

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll318/gruntygiggles/Food/CubanBlackBeanSoupMedium.jpg

[Von Teese]

Another good tip when you are doing a roast, use the water from the veggies to make the gravy with...that way all the nutrients and flavour go into the gravy too...!

Oh god, Im hungry now and I cant get any food till Ive had a bath, been riding the horses and am fithy!!

[gruntygiggles]

Another good tip when you are doing a roast, use the water from the veggies to make the gravy with...that way all the nutrients and flavour go into the gravy too...!

Oh god, Im hungry now and I cant get any food till Ive had a bath, been riding the horses and am fithy!!


+1, that's the only way to make gravy IMO......apart from cabbage water....that can be really bitter. PM on it's way VT......about horses not food!

[Tara]

Try this:-

1 chorizo sausage, chopped into chunks and fried, then set aside.

1 onion chopped and fried gently til tender, add 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander and 1 clove crushed garlic. Fry for a minute, then add 1 can chopped tomatoes or cooked down fresh tomatoes and 1 pint chicken stock. Add a can of butter beans and a can of black beans or whatever you have in the cupboard and simmer for 20 mins. Then add 2 chopped spring onions, cook for another two minutes and ladel into bowls. Put the chorizo chunks into the bowls, pour a little olive oil and a squeeze a teaspoon of lime juice over and finish with a bit of fresh coriander.

It's amazing either as a winter or summer soup and deceptively filling!

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll318/gruntygiggles/Food/CubanBlackBeanSoupMedium.jpg

Mmm that sounds great i am going the supermarket after work to pick up the ingredients i feel like cooking today since hubby will home early

[gruntygiggles]

Mmm that sounds great i am going the supermarket after work to pick up the ingredients i feel like cooking today since hubby will home early

Oh cool.....let me know what you think. x

[timwilky]

Hmmm, think I will make asparagus soup for tea, It is fairly cheap round here at the moment.

[gruntygiggles]

Hmmm, think I will make asparagus soup for tea, It is fairly cheap round here at the moment.

Mmmm, sounds good. Do you grow your own then?

[Sir Trev]

Mmmm, sounds good. Do you grow your own then?

I've not tried growing asparagus. Hmmm. That's an idea for next year - I like to try something new each year.

This year I'm growing toms, cucumber and sweet peppers in the greenhouse; srawberrys in pots; rhubarb and apples in the garden, and in the veg plot:
- beetroot
- mange tout
- runner beans
- leeks
- onions
- celery (this year's experiment)
- two kinds of potato
- sprouts
- cabbage
- broccoli
- carrots
- two kinds of lettuce
- rocket
- raddish
- parsnip
- and pumpkins

Not forgetting the herb garden by the kitchen door...

At this time or year we don't need to buy any veg or salad from the supermarket at all, but we do run out of spuds quite quickly as I don't have the space to grow enough of them.

When you put in the investment of sowing, nurturing and growing them you automatically want to eat them. Hence my suggestion of growing some if you want to eat more. It might sound like I have a garden the size of an allotment but I don't - I just grow a bit of everything for the variety and fun of it. Even if you just have a window box you can grow fast growing salad crops like lettuce or raddish.


ps, anyone currently humming the theme tune to The Good Life is asking for smacked legs!

[timwilky]

Mmmm, sounds good. Do you grow your own then?

No I have to buy it from the farm shop. Got some yesterday for dinner, only 50p/bunch. need to go back and buy some more

My gardens are ornamental. ie, flowers and ponsy bushes. although I do have a small herb garden, mint, sage, rosemary, chives etc. Chilli plants, basil and coriander grow indoors, plenty of dwarf tomato plants desperate to ripen their fruit, and strawberries that get raided by the grandkids.

My father had about 4 acres of his gardens in veg. Great for spuds, onions, carrots, cauliflower,cabbage etc. and raspberries, gooseberries etc. Plenty of fresh bunnies to go with the veg in a stew. Pity he is now dead as I miss his fresh veg, eggs, chicken, pheasant etc. Suburban living takes something from the soul. (was hardwork when some git pinched his little fergy, and we had to use a rotavator)

I keep looking for land for sale locally, but it is so damm expensive. Ideally I want about 10 acres, enough for a couple of ponies for the grandkids, a few pigs allowed to wallow. a couple of beefers, a few geese/hens etc. and a reasonable size to veg. and room to shoot

[gruntygiggles]

Yeah, I'd love that eventually too Tim. I'd ideally like to pretty much feed the family on home produce. I've bred and reared pigs before, so would gladly do that again with British Lops if I could. I could happily get beef, lamb and game from the butchers, but pork and chicken I'd definately like to rear myself again....the taste when you let pigs mature longer and live outdoors is just unbeatable. As for veg.....I can't really grow any at the moment with the set up here, but have my herbs taking over the garden....lol.

Sorry for the derail A*H