National Nutrition Week – Tryfor5
Run during National Nutrition Week, Tryfor5 is Nutrition Australia’s annual campaign to encourage Australians to increase their vegetable consumption to the recommended 5 serves per day. Packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, we all know veggies are good for us yet only 4% of Australians currently eat enough vegetables each day with the average person eating only half as much as the recommended 5 serves.
So, we know we should be aiming for 5 serves of veggies per day but how much is a serve? According to Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines one serve of vegetables is equivalent to approximately 75g or:
- ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
- ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils (preferably with no added salt)
- 1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
- ½ cup sweet corn
- ½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (sweet potato, taro or cassava)
- 1 medium tomato
Eating a healthy balanced diet can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers as well as assist to lower cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of stroke.
Some easy ways to increase your intake of veggies include:
- Smoothies – adding greens to your favourite fruit smoothie recipe is an easy way to sneak more veggies into your day. Try adding some kale, or spinach or make a veggie only smoothie using, spinach, cucumber, carrot and ginger for an extra kick!
- Snacks – chop up some veggie sticks from carrots, celery, capsicum or cucumber and pair them with your favourite dip or hummus!
- Savoury Muffins – try dicing up some veggies and adding them to a savoury muffin mix for a healthy snack.
So, get sneaky and get creative and Tryfor5 today!
Katie McGrath
Exercise Scientist
