What is a serve of vegetables?

We know that fruit and vegetables are good for us and we should be eating more of them. But the question is how much should we really be eating?

The answer, I’m told by MAGGI team nutritionist Jutta, is that we should be aiming for 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each and every day! A serve of fruit is an average piece of whole fruit such as an apple, pear or banana, 2 pieces of smaller fruit such as apricots or kiwi, 1 cup of cut up fruit or if you are not sure aim for 150g. When it comes to a serve of veggies it is even easier as one serve equates to around ½ cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of green leafy or salad vegetables or around 75g,

While its easy to eat the recommended daily fruit intake, over 90% of us are not getting enough vegetables. And if there is one thing to remember above all the thousands of messages we hear, it is that both fruit and vegetables are brimming with gut-friendly fibre and healthful plant-based goodies. We know that fibre can play a role in gut health but fruit and veggies also contain lots of plant-based nutrients such as antioxidants important for helping support overall health and longevity.

An easy tip to get you eating more vegetables is to invest in a see-through airtight container that you fill every 2-3 days with an assortment of cut up, easy to grab, colourful vegetables. Think about a selection of different types and colours of raw veggies. Some of my favourites are snow peas, carrot sticks, cucumber rounds, celery sticks, mushroom halves and cherry tomatoes. Then place it right in your line of sight when you open the fridge. It is easy to be tempted to eat when there is a variety of different colours and the food looks attractive. And for those who find eating vegetables a bit bland, pairing it up with healthy plant-based dip like hummus can also up the taste factor and make eating vegetables a real pleasure.