5-A-DAY WEEK 2014 DAY 6

Hey!
Day 6 already,PHEW.
Almost over, so let's get today's suggestions over and done with ^-^
Care to try any? :)

BREAKFAST
Scrambled egg- but make it with some vegetable! It enhances the taste and has health benefits- win-win!
Chop up some tomato or onion (onions are very aromatic!), toss it in and enjoy!

You can add any vegetable you desire.

MORNING SNACK
Freeze/chill your favourite fruit- VERY refreshing. Serve in any way you like! E.g dice watermelon, toss in a bag and chill. Quick and easy!

LUNCH
Have you ever tried a tuna and vegetable salad? Rather healthy, delicious and gets some vegetables in there. A good recipe can be found here!

AFTERNOON SNACK
Make your own ketchup, if you don't know how- try here! Or, if you can't, use some tomato sauce/paste with a LOT of tomatoes and use it as a dip for crackers. Spread some cheese on the crackers if you like and add some vegetables, and you have a vegetable filled snack! You can use any other vegetable sauce, too.

DINNER
Omelette infused with some vegetables or fruits e.g avocado- yum yum! Makes omelette much less boring! Serve with another vegetable if you wish, too, such as broccoli.

Apologies, I have a headache ^-^

5-A-DAY WEEK 2014 DAY 5

Hey!
Day 5! Wow! There is still a bit to go, and I apologise for another rushed post today :(
You will forgive me, I hope, once you see those cool ideas!

BREAKFAST
Banana pancakes- yummy yummy pancakes with added banana! There are many variations, the simplest one requires only two ingredients and can be found here . Other recipes can be found here and here, or by making a simple Google search ^-^

MORNING SNACK
This is such a cute company that makes fruit snacks! They are mainly aimed at younger children but I admire the company nonetheless, it's a brand I can trust! Just grab one of their snacks on the go, and try them out! Yum! ^-^

LUNCH
A sandwich with a fruit and veggie twist! Instead of butter, use avocado flesh. Find out how by clicking here or doing some Google research! Then pile on your favourite toppings and slip in a tomato slice or two ;)

AFTERNOON SNACK
Place greek/plain yogurt in a blender and toss in some of your favourite fruits (in small pieces). Add things like sugar, extracts,colours and so forth if you wish, blend, and freeze for about 15 minutes to an hour. You can enjoy a fruity treat very much like ice cream!

DINNER
If you don't usually eat salads with your dinner, now is your opportunity,and if you do eat salads, try a new one! That's your mission- simple,huh? ^-^

Have a wonderful weekend, and see you all tomorrow!

5-a-day week 2014 DAY 4

Hey!
How's your week going? We are on day 4 already!I will use yesterday's format for today, and this again meets your 5-a-day aim for fruit and vegetables. ^-^
Enjoy!

BREAKFAST
A handful of your favourite fruit and/or veggies, and optional yogurt/milk/water/flavours/colours/sweeteners all blended into a handy, convenient smoothie! Yum!

MORNING SNACK
Have you ever heard of the Nākd range? If not, click here.  I do not think it's available in America, so for all my American readers, the closest company I have found is the Larabar company. Of course, you can try making your own bars any time ^-^

LUNCH
Pasta mixed with fruits and vegetables- good ones include avocado, carrot, cucumber and little broccoli pieces.

AFTERNOON SNACK
Diced avocado sprinkled with salt in a convenient bag

DINNER
Omelette made with some sort of vegetable-yum!
This works for some fruits like tomatoes and avocados ^06

DESSERT
A slice of apple crumble! Yum! Or any method of getting some fruits into your dessert, really :)

How is your week going? What cool ways do you know of slipping fruits into your dishes?

5-a-day week 2014 day 3

Hey!
Sorry for the late post, and today's post will be rather quick, but here's today's fruity and vegetably menu that meets your 5-a-day! ^0^

BREAKFAST
Toast with a generous layer of fruit jam
And
Water with a dash of lemon juice

MORNING SNACK
Dried apricots blended together and shaped into cute little balls.

LUNCH
Broccoli covered in a vegetable sauce
And
Fresh fruit juice

AFTERNOON SNACK
Diced carrot in a ziplock bag

DINNER
Smoked salmon drizzled with vegetable source and served with a sliced cucmber

DESSERT
A delicious mix of grapes, raspberries and strawberries served with cream and some honey/sugar/sweetener.

Deep apologies for the rather shabby post, how's your week going? Have you been making an effort with your fruit and vegetables?

5-A-DAY WEEK 2014 DAY 2

Hey!
Remember, you do NOT have to follow those ideas precisely. After all, they are just suggestions!

BREAKFAST
Help yourself to your favourite breakfast cereal and give it a fruity twist!

• Slice up strawberries, berries or any fruit and toss them in for interesting flavour and texture. Cornflakes? Now, every spoonful won't be the same- you will have grapes or blueberries to look forward to!

If you can't manage that, try eating some fruit or vegetables as a side. For example, if you normally just eat cereal for breakfast, how about you eat a banana afterwards? Fruit juice isn't too bad, it's rather convenient so give it a shot ^-^

MORNING SNACK
Hunger- it's coming for you. Fight it off with this awesome fruity snack!

Fruit and nut snack balls
You will need;

• Your favourite fruits,nuts and perhaps some oats. Ensure they are peeled and in small pieces.
• A blender or food processor.

All you need to do is prepare your fruit and nuts, blend them and mould them into balls! Then, pack them into little bags and enjoy! Hopefully, you won't be hungry until lunch.

LUNCH
Yes, it's vegetable time. All you really need to do is prepare your favourite combination of vegetables,mix them together and lay them out attractively. Serve with dressing if you must, and enjoy! Good combinations include cherry tomatoes and lettuce-an easy classic. If you need a quick dressing, try olive oil or a store-bought dressing you like. Enjoy! :)

AFTERNOON SNACK
Hunger is coming back, so fight it right off with this delicious snack idea.

Take your favourite fruit/s and/or vegetable/s and if they are not soft already, boil them in water until they soften. Then, toss them all into a blender or food processor until they are at your desired texture. Scoop it up into individual muffin cases,cups etc. Eat with a spoon and enjoy!
Make sure your combination tastes good together, and don't forget you can add things to the mix such as cocoa powder :)

DINNER
This is one of my favourite dinner ideas during the summer, and it's YUMMY.
Its a type of rice, I'm not sure which kind it is exactly though. It is served with strawberries with cream, and I love it! It's a great way of putting fruit into your dinner.

How are your 5-a-day aims going? Good? I hope so ^-^

5-A-DAY WEEK 2014 DAY 1

Hey!
So, today is Monday,7 July, meaning only one thing- 5-a-day week starts today! For now, the layout will be all of the day's meals planned out in one post during the day, I hope it works well enough ^-^
Of course, those are all just suggestions- I never said you have to follow the plan precisely!
Without further ado,here is my plan for today.

Breakfast
Try some oatmeal/porridge- yes, it is boring, I know. On its own,anyway. Did you know, that by sneaking in some fruit, you are improving the taste and also getting one of your 5-a-day aim? Here are some creative ways of slipping fruit into your oatmeal/porridge;-

• Mix it in with some fruit juice- if you are picky go for 100% fruit juice, it's a rather nice way of boosting the amount of fruit in your breakfast. However, you might need to add a bit more other fruit to your breakfast too ^-^ The juice makes the porridge sweeter and gives it an interesting flavour- I always had my porridge with strawberry or raspberry juice.
• Mix it with some of your favourite fruit- grab your favourite combination of fruit, slice some of them up with needed, mix them together and scatter them on your porridge to give it a rather interesting texture and flavour. Berries are very good for this if you are in a hurry, just toss some raspberries and blueberries on top and you're good to go. However, you can add banana, sliced apple, and even sprinkle a spice like cinnamon or ginger!
• Oatmeal dip- you might want to flavour your oatmeal a bit if you are doing this, but them main idea is to slice up some fruits, put them in a bowl and dip them in the porridge as you eat them. It can work quite well,especially if you have a funky apple flavoured porridge ^-^

What cool ways do you have of putting fruit into your oatmeal? If you cannot put fruit in your oatmeal, try at least for a glass of refreshing fruit juice or perhaps a whole fruit on its own, such as a banana as you are heading out of the door.

Morning Snack
A simple solution to keep you going until lunch- all you have to do is reach out and grab a delicious piece of fruit. Fruit is rather good at giving you energy and fighting your hunger, so eat some fruit! It can be a simple thing like a banana, orange or apple. Or, if you prefer smaller fruit, how about a few grapes or berries in a bag or box?  If you like to make your own, perhaps toss some of the fruit in a bag before you dash out of the door and you're good to go.

Lunch
Finally, lunch! Eat whatever you want for lunch, be it a bagel or a piece of toast. If possible, why not try incorporating some fruit into it? For example, spread some jam on your toast. That's a rather good way! However, try to get fruit into your lunch in any way- here are some ideas.

• Jam- rather fruity ^-^
• Sneak some fruit into your yogurt!
• Chop it up and eat it as a side.
• Eat it whole!
• Drink some juice!

Or, dont forget the vegetables! Putting more cucumber in your sandwich is a rather good step to take,so try to get some fruit or vegetables in there any way you can!


Afternoon snack 
The energy from lunch is wearing off, and you don't like it. So, time for a snack! Here are some ideas you could try, they are rather fast ^-^
FRUIT

1. Try a trail mix- your favourite dried fruits plus some nuts and it's very quick, convenient and stops hunger. For example, I like dried apricots and hazelnuts, so those coming together make a rather nice afternoon snack. Yum!
2. Of course, here's the classic- just enjoy fruit on its own! Bananas, apples and oranges are probably the easiest- just grab, peel and munch. 
3. If you have time, toast some bread, spread it with your favourite nut butter and add some banana slices on top. Delicious!
4. Yet again, if you have time, get some greek yogurt and toss in some of your favourite fruit. It's fast and quite yummy!

VEGETABLES

1. Who says you can't peel and eat some cucumber on your own? And who on earth dares suggest you cannot eat some peas or kale alone? Go ahead and eat your favourite vegetable alone!
2. Try corn on the cob, if you have time! It's a rather nice way of getting your vegetables.
3. Whip up a quick salad! If you don't have the time, many stores sell small salads in pots, so give those a try ^0^
4. Sneak it in a sandwich! You will feel grateful you added those tomatoes or cucumbers into your cheddar sandwich, you will.

DINNER
Finally, your opportunity! To catch up on any missed fruits or vegetables, perhaps.
Eat what you want, but here are some ways of increasing your fruits/vegetables;

• Add some salads or vegetables to the rest of your meal
• Drink fruit juice
• Incorporate fruit into dessert, i.e fruit salad
• Eat any missed servings of fruit or vegetables as you like them!

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was good enough, good luck getting your 5-a-day! ^0^

5-a-day week 2014

We have all seen it- dieticians, doctors, schools and governments show strong support for increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. We are constantly exposed to this encouragement- eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Why? Statistics revealed that obesity, heart disease,diabetes and many more degenerative diseases are on the rise, and they are at an extremely high level. Many scientists blame our food for this-they claim that the chemicals in our food and our lack of nutrients are causing us to live shorter, more miserable lives. Fruit juices and fruit products here in the UK have a label to show they are one of your 5-a-day, further showing the strong encouragement for us to eat more. However, this rise in such diseases could be caused by the fact many foods we now consume regularly are not very nutrient-dense, such as candy. This means we lack those nutrients, and therefore, we are more likely to catch such diseases. This is why 5-a-day week has been started- next week, you can look forward to meal ideas daily that sneak in fruit and vegetables- then you can see the positive difference.
Remember to enjoy your favourite foods, though, as you only have this opportunity to enjoy it. Nothing lasts forever, does it now?

Coming on Monday,7 July 2014 you can check back daily for the whole week to find ways to consume more fruit and vegetables.