Are you eating enough fruit and veg?

Most of us know we need to eat fruit and vegies every day, but did you know you how much you need to eat?

Vegies and fruit are essential for health and should form the central part of our diet.  They are rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals which helps us maintain a healthy weight and reduce cancer risk.

However, only a few of us eat the recommended serves. A study by Cancer Council* asked people why they didn’t eat more vegies, and one of the most common reasons was that they thought they were already eating enough. When we looked at how much they ate, they weren’t in fact eating 5 serves of vegetables each day and 2 serves of fruit.

So, in case you didn’t know, this is what counts as 1 serve of veg:

1 serve of veg is 75g. That’s is roughly ½ a cup of cooked veg, ½ cooked potato or 1 cup of salad.  Take a look below to see what one serve of your favourite veg looks like on a plate:

This is what counts as 1 serve of fruit:

1 serve of fruit is 150g which is roughly 1 medium piece of fruit, 2 small pieces or 1 cup of chopped fruit.

Here is what 1 serve of your favourite fruit looks like:

Does 5 & 2 sound too much to chew?

It might sound like a lot to have five serves of vegies and two serves of fruit every day, but it’s easier if you spread it over the day.  Check out these top tips to get your 5 & 2:

5 serves of vegies

• Serve up some vegies for breakfast: try baked beans on wholegrain toast – only half a cup of beans equals 1 serve of veg.
• Pack some vegies into lunch: serve yourself a portion of vegie pasta soup, or a yummy salad or have some lettuce and tomato on your sandwich.
• Stick em up: have some vegie sticks with hummus for afternoon tea. Did you know that beans and legumes count as vegies?
• Go meat free on Mondays: have a vegie-based dinner like our vegetable curry.
• Make vegies the star of the show at dinner: try our beef and broccoli stir fry.

2 serves of fruit

• Go bananas at breakfast: go simple and have a banana on your breakfast cereal.  Or if want something more adventurous, try these delicious banana split pots.
• Go fruity for snacks and dessert: grab your favourite seasonal fruit like an apple, orange or grapes for a morning or afternoon tea snack. Or try a fruit recipe for dessert such as stuffed apples, fruit salad, fruit and yoghurt or stewed apples.

Check to see how many serves you are having each day.

Not eating enough? Find out more ways to include more in your day:

6 hacks to get your family eating more fruit and vegies

6 tips for delicious vegies

* Perceptions of adequacy of fruit and vegetable intake as a barrier to increasing consumption is published in Nutrition and Dietetics.

© Cancer Council NSW 2024 Head Office Address: 153 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011. Cancer Council NSW is registered with the Australian Taxation Office as an Income Tax Exempt Charity: Charitable Fundraising Authority No. 18521.

Some images on this site have been supplied by Cancer Council Western Australia's Crunch & Sip website