We all know we should be eating more fruit and vegetables every day, for a while it was recommended that we eat 5 portions a day and now they have upped it to 7.

At some point they will take it up to 10 which is what it should have been in the past, but 10 seemed like a huge number and would have put a lot of people off, so to start with they said 5, then once people get used to that it goes up and up.

A bit like petrol prices.

Anyway, if you are someone that struggles to get it during your daily required amount then here are a few tips.

• Make Fuit or Veg a must with your breakfast, now that doesn’t mean you need to be popping broccoli into your cornflakes but, if you start early, you have more chance of getting it all done, instead of chasing your tail. Not sure what to have, stick fruit in with your cereal, or banana on your toast, stick some mushrooms in with your scrambled eggs.
• Make lunch colourful, it doesn’t matter what you are having for lunch, there is always room for some fruit and veg. It could be as easy as having some fruit alongside your sandwich or having a side salad. You can easily get a portion or two in at lunch.
• Every dinner should have a decent serving of veg. We always say that half your plate should be covered with Veg, make it more than one type and a decent variety of colours. Some of you out there of a certain age would of heard this a lot when you were a kid, what’s for pudding? Fruit, we have fruit. Looking back, it wasn’t so bad was it.
• Base your snacks around it, have a portion of fruit as your snack, or have some veg sticks available to eat throughout the day. Bonus about this is that it is also low in calories, even if you have a big wedge of it.
• If it is hidden you won’t eat it, so make sure that the fruit bowl is available for all to see and easy to access, make sure any veg sticks etc are already cut up and in the fridge to help with those snacks. It just becomes easy to pick up when it is easily available.
• Just like your protein sources you should be varying up your fruit and veg, taste the rainbow I think a certain sweet manufacturer says, by varying it up, it also stops you getting board with eating the same old shit over and over.
• Get sugar cravings, try eating some fruit first, it will help as the calorie count of the fruit will be a lot less than the choc bar or biscuits, because let’s be honest, no on just has one biscuit and if they do, stay away from them, they are a psychopath.

Start with those 7 tips and it may help to get at least those 7 portions a day into your life. This also gives me time to sort out the other 3 tips for when they decide it will go to 10.