Do you know how much fruit and veg to eat?

Most of us know we need to eat vegies and fruit every day, but did you know you should eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit each day?

Vegies and fruit are essential for health and should form the central part of our diet.  They are a great source of fibre, vitamins and minerals.  They also contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that help protect your cells against damage.

However, only a few of us eat enough vegies and fruit. A study by Cancer Council* asked people why they didn’t eat more vegies. 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 eating 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit each day?

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, 1/2 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 if you spread it over the day, it’s easy!  Check out these top tips to get your 5 & 2:

2 serves of fruit

• Go bananas at breakfast.  Have a banana on your breakfast cereal, or 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.

5 serves of vegies

• Pack some vegies into lunch – what about a vegie pasta soup, yummy salad or have some lettuce and tomato on your sandwich.
• Have some vegie sticks with hummus for afternoon tea. Beans and legumes count as vegies.
• Go meat free on Mondays and have a vegie-based dinner like our vegetable curry.
• Try baked beans on wholegrain toast – half a cup of beans equals 1 serve of veg.
• Showcase vegies at dinner – with a beef and broccoli stir fry.

Why not see how many serves you are having each day.

Not eating enough? Check out these blogs for great 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