Am I getting enough variety of fruits and veggies? page

[Beasley]

I've long put a lot of effort into getting good quality protein and the like, but have only fairly recently tried getting enough veg.

As a student (albeit an unlucky one who ended going to uni from home...long story, and I now hate the unis that rejected me) living from home, I'm able to save a lot of money that others are paying for accommodation, so I can buy better food, and so am practically feeding myself eveything - the only thing from the "household cupboards" I'll eat are evening meals and, uh, any fruit lying around....although I'll stupidly indulge in bread bought for the brother if I'm stupid/hungry enough.

Anyways, at the moment my diet has me eating 2 bananas, 2 servings of broccoli (160g cooked weight) and 3 servings of carrots (240g) each day. Along with these I'm taking a bunch of pills, just because they're cheap and seem to cover all my bases (multi-vitamin, zinc and mangesium, D3 and fish oil)

Am I getting enough goodness just from these 3 types / 7 servings? I know that you need to have plenty of plant foods in your diet for it to be healthy, and I'm eating a fair amount of the stuff, I'm just not sure if my "triple combo" of fruit, greens and root vegetables are good enough!

Any input would be much appreciated.

[palebluedots]

I guess the real answer is how you feel. Primal tends to advocate more for fruits that are berries (not bananas), and lots don't eat veg like carrots. Personally, I've done a little experiment this last month where I've not eaten any fruit at all, and I feel just fine. But I eat a wide variety of veggies and track my vitamin/mineral intake at Cronometer.com to make sure I'm not consistently low in any one vitamin.

If I were you, I'd ditch the supplements (I have always felt that those are a waste of money, get your vits from food! Except Vitamin D if you don't live in a sunny place), and I'd seriously increase your consumption of leafy greens (lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, etc). I guess if the bananas and carrots make you feel ok, then to each his own, but many of us steer away from those types of items as well.

[Sabine]

No.

You know this. That's why you were wondering.

Switch it up!

[Beasley]

I should be able to get spinach for a really good price, as well, so thanks for that suggestions. Chards we actually have growing in our garden, although it's not something we can have all the time (it not being infinite, of course) So, add in spinach, and keep having the veg served with dinner.

Are there any other vital, must-have vegetables I'm missing?

[Lawyerchick12]

It sounds to me like you are getting plenty of veggies...if variety is the question, then no....you can switch up with incorporate roasted Kale, Spinach, Cauliflower, Peppers, Tomatoes etc

[Beasley]

Just to clarify, I'm not really fussed about variety for variety's sake, but more for the sake of getting everything I need. I don't want to be getting plenty of vitamin X and mineral Y if I'm missing out on vitamin/mineral Z because I'm not having something else. What I'm trying to get is a variety of plant foods that can make sure I'm getting enough of everything, as opposed to enough of some stuff but not others.

Spinach, broccoli, carrots and bananas...of other stuff that I could be having, is there anything that's necessary to have?

Sorry for any misunderstanding, I think I phrased it awkwardly in the first post!

[BeatlesFan]

I guess the real answer is how you feel. Primal tends to advocate more for fruits that are berries (not bananas, and lots don't eat veg like carrots. .

Sry OP, gonna hijack this real quick to prevent posting a new thread. Not eating carrots ?!? What's wrong with carrots : ( I desperately need to increase my veggie intake but the problem is I don't really like them especially cooked in with things ( I like raw). Carrots however I actually like. Just bought a bunch to eat with my breakfast.

[magpieoz]

carrots are high in carbs - comparatively, same with veggies like beets.

[Kelmar]

I eat a whole raw carrot everyday, but I don't do VLC....it's a personal choice really.

[Owly]

Not everyone is worried about carbs, and carrots are a fine choice unless you are doing vlc.