Eating enough portions of fruit and vegetables is important for a healthy diet. Learn which unexpected foods do (and don't) count towards your five a day.
The “Five A Day” concept is a ubiquitous principle for healthy eating, based on advice from the World Health Organization that everybody should be consuming at least five 80 gram portions of fruit and/or vegetables a day.
It is believed that consuming these portions of fruit and vegetables a day will provide individuals with much of their required intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre, as well as helping them to remain free from many illnesses including heart disease, digestion problems and cancer.
However, many individuals are unsure of exactly what does and does not contribute towards their five a day. In short, practically every fruit and vegetable counts. However, there are some other unexpected foods that do in fact contribute towards your five a day, as well as some surprising ones that don’t.
Dips Count Towards Five a Day
Perhaps references to dips conjure up, for many, unhealthy images of fatty, creamy substances. However, having dips as a snack or meal can actually be a good way to help get one’s five a day. Guacamole, for instance, has a primary ingredient of avocado, while the homemade version also generally contains fresh lemon juice and tomato.
Homemade hummus is also good as it contains chickpeas (which count towards one’s five a day of fruit and vegetables), while salsa dip is packed with tomatoes and onions.
All three dips can count as one portion of one’s five a day, and individuals can further increase this by having raw vegetable crudités (such as celery, carrot and pepper sticks) with their dips.
Mushrooms May be a "Five a Day" Superfood
Because mushrooms are not in fact vegetables, but fungi, many believe that they will not count towards their five a day. This, however, is not true. Although mushrooms are not technically vegetables, the UK’s Food Standards Agency still maintains that mushrooms do in fact count towards one’s five a day, with roughly three heaped tablespoons of them counting as one portion.
In fact, according to the Daily Mail, studies have suggested that mushrooms are worthy of Superfood status, as they contain vast amounts of nutrients including B vitamins, potassium, copper, phosphorous, iron, selenium and antioxidants.
Fruit and Vegetable Crisps Help Healthy Eating
Unfortunately, standard potato chips are of very low nutritional value and do not contribute towards one’s five a day. However, certain companies have recently launched healthy, low fat alternatives to their potato predecessors. Perry Court, for instance, manufacture apple crisps, while Snapz offer apple crisps in various flavours as well as carrot and beetroot crisps. As well as these low fat products being much healthier than potato crisps, both companies are also licensed to carry the UK government’s ‘5 A Day’ logo, signifying that they count towards one portion of fruit and vegetables.
Olives and Onions Can Boost Five a Day
Many people do not think of olives or onions as contributing to their five a day, yet both foods are very nutritious and do in fact count. However, according to the Food Standards Agency, one must eat about thirty olives to get one portion of their five a day, while it takes half an onion to qualify as one full portion. However, even if this amount is not consumed, both products can still be helpful for contributing towards one portion when combined with other vegetables or fruits. Onions make a particularly useful contribution to fruit and vegetable intake as they make up the base of so many sauces and dishes.
Beans are Packed with Nutrition
Although not a fruit or vegetable, pulses such as lentils and beans (including the tinned variety) count towards one’s five a day. However, according to dietary advice from the NHS, beans will only ever count as one portion, no matter how many are consumed in one day.
Christmas Pudding Counts Towards Five a Day
While Christmas pudding is perhaps not the healthiest food on the market, the NHS still states that the fruit found in puddings is as good as any other for contributing to one’s five a day. Most Christmas puddings and cakes are packed with various dried fruits, making them great for this purpose. If it is not yet quite that time of year, however, other fruit based puddings, such as apple pie or rhubarb crumble, can also help to contribute to one’s five a day.
Popcorn – One of Five a Day?
One food that is a little more controversial than those listed above is popcorn. Although popcorn is a grain, rather than a fruit or vegetable, according to Next Generation Food research has suggested that popcorn is as rich in antioxidants as fruit and vegetables. Although it seems that further research is needed about whether the snack food should officially be classed as contributing to one’s five a day, it certainly seems that this popular snack could have great health benefits.
Surprising Foods That Don't Count Towards One’s Five a Day
Although there are many unexpected foods that can contribute to an individual’s five a day, there are also lots of foods that people believe do count, which indeed don’t. One of the most common of these is potatoes which, although a vegetable, do not count as a portion. This is because their main nutrient is starch, which classes them as a carbohydrate. Other commonly mistaken products that do not qualify as a “five a day” food are fruit jams, coconuts, tomato ketchup and yams.
Getting your Five a Day the Easy Way
Although many people have a general idea of what contributes as a portion of their daily fruit and vegetables, some foods are trickier to suss out than others. Food does not have to be exclusively raw and green to count towards one’s five a day, and a healthy diet can – and should - come in different shapes and sizes. By incorporating some of the tasty ingredients above into one’s diet, individuals can eat their way to five a day in an easy, effortless way.
For more information on meeting your five a day, please refer to:
NHS 5 A DAY
The Food Standards Agency
First published Jul 29, 2010 Hannah McLoughlin
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