Do you eat this many fruits and vegetables a day?? I think that I eat quite well, but I don't often have this many. I found the photo here. The site tells exactly how much is a serving. A banana is one serving. A small bell pepper is half a serving.
I've been telling myself that I need to shop for fresh food twice a week, but sometimes I don't get to the store even once a week. I remember reading an MFK Fisher book where she mentions getting food every single day and eating it that day. I think she was in France at the time. That would of course be the dream. If I lived in an apartment with a market right out front I could easily shop every day. But most of us don't. I live eight miles away from my local co-op.There's a little market in town but even that is three miles away, and the store is pretty minimal. And then there are places in the US that are deemed 'food deserts' because the only stores don't offer any 'real' food, just packaged goods.
It isn't easy eating well. And all too often it is those with money who are best able to do it. But even when we can afford organic, fresh foods we are often too busy or tired to get to the stores as often as we should. Many people's medicine cabinets are full, and they have lots of doctor's appointments. Perhaps if we took the time and money to feed ourselves well we wouldn't need doctors and hospitals as we do now. This is a huge problem, and may well be at the root of many physical, emotional, and psychological ills.
I'm heading out to the store today!
I can now walk to two good grocery stores (while we're here in Oregon anyway) and until end November we have Farmer's markets three times a week just a few blocks away. But it is expensive to buy every day -- you never have everything you need for recipes -- and while fresh foods are better and close to the same price (close but still higher) at the nearby stores, the staples you need to actually put a meal together are very expensive. So we drive to the dreaded supermarket every 10 days to two weeks to stock up/replenish the supplies. We do eat a lot of fresh produce -- more than many people, but probably not as much as we should -- If we could be happy with JUST the fresh veg and fruits it would be better for us I'm sure -- but that's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteLucky you! As always, I'm so grateful for the comments you share. I love the snippets of your life. The thing I've learned (finally!!) about fresh produce is to buy only what we can eat in a few days. I used to stock up and then the lettuce and grapes, etc. etc. would go bad.
DeleteNo, I don't get as many fruits and vegetables as I would like but I think I get more than most!
ReplyDeleteNan, you should see the fruit and veg in England, everything is so fresh, you would love it. I have fond memories of some lemons from Spain and some apples from Italy.
I remember reading that when Martha Stewart was in jail what she missed most was lemons. I'd feel the same.
DeleteLast night, I've come back from a long weekend at O.K.'s (Monday was a public holiday in Germany) and tonight after work I'll go food shopping - my fruit bowl on the kitchen table is empty, and so is my fridge except for some yoghurt, cheese and drinks. 5 minutes on foot from my house is a supermarket with really good fruit and veg aisles; things get snapped up so quickly they don't get a chance to become old.
ReplyDeleteI usually shop there twice a week, and although I do eat fresh produce every day, I don't get to the amount shown on the picture.
And to be honest, I don't like to be told what I "should" or "should not" eat - I am 48 years old and know pretty well what is good for me and what is not. Most of the time, my diet is balanced - meat maybe once a week, fish is rare, bread and muesli and cheese feature almost daily, as do salads and fruit and vegetable. I love chocolate and sweets and nuts, too, but I move a lot (not having a car is an advantage there) and catch some daylight even during the dark winter months. All that, combined with drinking a LOT of water every day, has been keeping me well for almost three decades now (ever since I moved out from home).
I see the whole eating thing rather relaxed - trying not do overdo the sweet and processed stuff, and counterbalancing my "sins" with plenty of exercise and good, fresh, genuine food in small-ish amounts seems to work well for me :-)
And from what I read in your recipes and see in your pictures, you and your family look all good and healthy, with wonderful skin! Don't worry too much about what you "should" eat, therefore :-)
I don't really worry about it - just want to have a few more fruits and vegs. We're a funny country over here. If you're in a supermarket you see magazines that have articles on how we 'should' eat and then offer recipes and pictures of food that are just the opposite. If there's a new fad, Americans tend to jump right on it. And then a new idea comes along and they grab it. For example, years (decades) ago everyone 'knew' that bacon wasn't good for you. Now there is bacon in everything. Good common sense and fewer packaged foods seem to be the answer.
DeleteIt's kind of odd that nowadays it is harder to find vegetables if you live in rural areas - and it is often more expensive.
ReplyDeleteI shop ever 10 days to two weeks, and if I forget something I have to live without it (unless I'm having guests coming), I only have 3 km (1,86 miles) to two small shops, where the vegetables are not very varied or exciting, but I always hesitate to get the car out.
Margaretha
It used to be very difficult to get organic or local vegetables in our area, but now we can get most anything. Do you have trouble driving Margaretha?
DeleteNot to use the car too often, is because of the concern for the environment - I drive shorter distances, but my doctor does not want me driving any long distances.
DeleteM
Thanks for getting back to me.
DeleteI wish I could say that I got all the fruits and vegetables I need and should have, Nan. I don't, out of personal laziness, but, I will say that my Tom does. He learned some very good eating habits early in his life, when diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He has at least 7 fruits and vegetables a day, sometimes more, and it has, I am certain, helped him maintain as good of health that he has, in spite of TD1. We are only a few miles in any direction from grocery stores and in the summer farm stands and farmers markets, but, it does seem like I am also going out to replenish them, but, as you have mentioned, I do try to buy only what I think we will eat. Though I compost leavings and peelings and what is too old to eat, I'd rather we eat it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this comment, Penny. I was very interested in all you said. I hope other diabetics will read it.
DeleteMy neighbour is really good about eating healthy food and swears by home made smoothies. She mixes all kinds of fruit and veg and sometimes includes a few nuts and then blitzes it all together with almond milk. I've never tried one that she has made, but she tells me they are delicious.
ReplyDeleteI make smoothies but only fruit and yogurt. I don't have a juicer, and somehow I can't think of mixing, say, carrots in with my blueberries!
DeleteWe just started the "new" WeightWatchers last month and ALL fruits and vegetables are zero points, so I have been consuming lots - easily as much as in the photo. Of course, we have been in peak harvest season and that is tapering off so fruit, especially, is getting much more expensive. Still, I suspect we'll be trying to eat just as much into the winter - or go hungry as we try to stay within our points allowance each day.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think WW changed that because years ago an apple was a point and I think a banana was 2 points. And you could eat a cookie for that! I feel annoyed with them the way they keep changing though. Years ago, a cup of brown rice was four points and now I think it is six. So, I just go my own way. My problem is that it is harder to exercise with my bum knee. I don't really eat that much food. Good luck!
DeleteOur farmer's market has ended and really good, local produce is hard to come by--so no, I don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. I'm still guarding some lovely blueberries a friend gave me. They're frozen. Another friend just mailed us a box of organic garlic so I feel rich in garlic, which goes with everything (okay, maybe not fruits). Our bell pepper plant is still producing and the lemons on the meyer lemon tree are approaching harvest time. So, there is some hope for me, but I'm impressed with Debbie ^^ and you.
ReplyDeleteWow, garlic in the mail!! That's a treat. Oh, to be able to grow peppers! I think the local ones in the store here are started in a greenhouse. We just don't have enough time for them to turn color. Funny thing, I love yellow and orange and I like red, but I can't stand the taste of green. Who knew they could taste different.
DeleteGoodness, that's a lot of food! I eat fruit every morning with my yogurt or oatmeal and usually have some veggie with lunch. And, I almost always have 1/2 an avocado with something during the day. Love them! We used to have salads almost every night with our dinner, but haven't do so in several weeks. We have some sort of vegetable, though, but I know I'm not eating this much every day! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteOne secret for me is having grapes and apples, etc. around to snack on during the day. And of course those little tomatoes right outside the door this summer was a bonus. I'd go out and eat a half dozen at a time. So delicious.
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