7 a Day Challenge - Day 6

On the home run now...  A few days ago I set myself the challenge to eat 7 portions of different fruits and vegetables over 7 days and see how it impacted me and my wallet.

Breakfast

I'd had enough of trying to squeeze fruit and vegetables into breakfast for one day.  So it was toast with marmalade and proper butter.

Lunch

As I said yesterday, I was on a soup drive so as well as my 'eat your greens' soup, I also made a batch of lentil and bacon, only reducing the quantity of lentils and water slightly and including carrots.  That way, I could make it two different servings of vegetables in 1 portion.  (Pulses can count as 1 of your 7 a day but only once per day.)   I also took some watermelon, banana, two satsumas and an apple with me making my lunch 6 portions of fruit and vegetables.

It does prove you can get back on track if you start the day with a less than healthy breakfast but it does mean you feel a little bit like a rabbit later!

It is making me wonder though how I ever struggled to fit 5 a day in.  Maybe my mindset is changing?

Tea

I'd concentrated a lot on fruit at lunchtime, and, let's face it, fruit is easy to eat.  It's sweet and portable.  So I made a very simple tea of breaded chicken with sweet potato wedges and peas.  My son had his meals at nursery but I complimented his daily intake with a snack of a satsuma and some dried apple when he got home.

7 a day?  Achieved!  8 different fruits and vegetables; red lentils, carrots, watermelon, banana, satsumas, apple, sweet potato and peas.

Today was easier actually.  Maybe I'm getting used to this.  I'm not convinced it's had a positive impact on my waistline though.  If my scales hadn't run out of battery I'd confirm this but the main reason I say this is after my very healthy lunch; I still ate chocolate.  I wasn't hungry, I just wanted chocolate.

Perhaps this is the thing which is forgotten so much in healthy eating advice?  Food is an accessible luxury, a small opening to a way of saying "I deserve this, I've earned this", I think so many people, me included eat the 'wrong' things because of far more complicated reasons than "I'm hungry".

I would be absolutely honoured if you would consider nominating me in the Britmums BIB awards, especially the food category.