Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are low in calories, high in fibre and packed with essential vitamins and minerals that improve your health and help prevent a host of diseases, such as some cancers, heart disease, raised blood pressure and high cholesterol.

One of the keys to losing weight is eating more foods that are naturally low in calories. Fruit and veg are great examples because they fill you up without fattening you up.

On The Biggest Loser Club program we ask that you eat five serves of fruit and vegetables a day. This will ensure that you're getting all the essential nutrients you need, plus it will help you to stay within your daily calorie target.

What’s a serve?

• 1 apple, pear, banana, orange or similar sized fruit
• 2 plums or a similar sized fruit
• 1/2 a grapefruit or avocado
• 1 slice of large fruit, such as watermelon or pineapple
• 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
• 3 heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses (however much you eat, this only counts as a maximum of one portion per day)
• 3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad (fresh or tinned, but not i)
• 1 handful of grapes, cherries or berries
• 1 cereal bowl of salad
• 1 heaped tablespoon (30g) of dried fruit, such as raisins or apricots
• 1 glass (150ml) of fruit juice (only one portion of your daily intake should come from juice)

Enjoy the colours of the rainbow

• The reds such as tomatoes, red pepper, red apples and strawberries.
• The oranges like carrots, pumpkin and of course oranges.
• The greens such as apples, kiwis, broccoli, cabbage and spinach— the darker the greens the more nutrients they have.
• The purples like grapes, berries, beetroot and aubergine.
• The whites, such as cauliflower, onion and leeks. 

How to get your five-a-day

• Breakfast: Include some fruit with your breakfast, whether it’s chopped fruit in your porridge, a smoothie or an apple you can grab while running out the front door.
• Lunch: Fill your sandwich with lots of salad. If you’re buying a sandwich from a cafe, ask for extra as they often only add a bit of tomato and lettuce, which won’t equal a serve. Alternatively have a cup of vegetable soup or a side salad with lunch. Enjoy some fresh fruit for dessert.
• Dinner. Before you dish out meat and accompaniments such as rice, fill at least half your dinner plate with your favourite vegetables or salad. Try to choose at least three types of veg e.g. carrots, peas and broccoli or mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber and pepper. Serve chopped-up fruit with low-fat yoghurt or custard for dessert.
• Snacks. Making at least one of your daily snacks a fruit and/or veg option will help you reach the five-a-day quota. Try sticks of carrot, cucumber or pepper and dip them into salsa, low-fat hummus or fat-free salad dressing for extra flavour. Slice up a selection of fruit, such as apples, melon, strawberries and grapes, and leave the bowl by your desk or on the kitchen side board so you can pick at it throughout the day.

Tips and tricks

• Hide them: Sneak vegetables into your favourite dishes e.g. add pepper and mushrooms to homemade ham and pineapple pizza; add green beans and carrots to curries; add baby spinach or broccoli to tomato pasta sauce. Add sliced or chopped fruits to breakfast cereals or low-fat yoghurt.
• Add them: Put lots of vegetables in to family favourites, such as spaghetti bolognese, curries and casseroles.
• Stir-fry: Stir-fries are a great way to get loads of vegetables. Choose at least three varieties of veg, plus an onion, for every stir-fry you cook.
• Slurp them: Make a big pot of vegetable soup or toss a few handfuls of legumes into a meat-based soup. Whip up a breakfast smoothie by blending together a banana, some seasonal fresh or tinned fruit, low-fat milk and ice.
• Think convenience: If you’re short for time, choose prepared fruit and veg such as ready-to-cook stir-fry mixes, mixed frozen fruit and vegetables, peeled and chopped fruit salad medleys, or wash-and-eat salad mixes. They cost more, but they can save time and help you get the nutrients you need.
• Buy small quantities frequently. One of the reasons people often turn their nose up at fruit and veg is because it’s often past its use-by date. For example, the apples have gone soft, the bananas are bruised and the tomatoes are starting to get sludgy. Try to purchase small quantities of fruit and veg every couple of days so it’s always fresh. If that’s not practical, store ripe fruit and veg in the refrigerator to maintain its freshness. Keep canned or frozen fruit and veg on stand-by for when the fresh produce isn’t so good. 
• Pack it the night before. Don’t rely on being able to get a piece of fruit or veg at the coffee shop or work canteen. Pack a lunch box with at least two serves of fruit and veg each night in preparation for the following day.
• Keep a fruit bowl in sight. Humans are hardwired to want to eat food when they see it, so keep a bowl of delicious fresh fruit at home and at work to encourage you to eat it.
• When cravings hit, eat fruit first. If you’re desperate for sweets or chocolate, try eating a piece of fruit first; fruit is naturally sweet so it can satisfy sugar cravings. Wait 10-15 minutes and chances are the cravings will have subsided. 
• Wash it, don’t peel it. A lot of the fibre and nutrients of fruits such as apples and pears is contained in the skin, so wash fruit thoroughly with water and eat it whole – skin and all.
• Get creative. Use fruit to add sweetness to savoury salads, like we did in the Summer chicken salad or Fennel and orange salad. Bake or barbecue fish or chicken with sliced fruit such as apples, apricots or prunes. Barbecue or grill stone fruits such as peaches or nectarines and serve with low-fat yoghurt. Create fruit kebabs and grill or serve fresh with low-fat ice cream.