What is a portion of fruit and vegetables?

Fruit

Large fruit: 1-2 slices

Let’s start big – for fruit like melons or pineapples, a portion is the equivalent of a couple of slices.

Medium fruit: 1 piece

For an apple, an orange, a banana or a pear, 1 piece = 1 portion. If your fruit is smaller – such as a plum, kiwi or satsuma – then a portion is 2 pieces.

Small fruit: A handful

Obviously sizes vary, but a handful of grapes, blueberries or strawberries is roughly a portion of fruit.

Dried fruit: A heaped tablespoon

A portion is equivalent to 30g. That’s about one heaped tablespoon of raisins, or three prunes.

Vegetables

Salad

A portion is around 1 small bowl of salad leaves, an average tomato or a 5cm piece of cucumber.

Cruciferous vegetables: 8 florets or pieces

This covers broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts.

Medium-to-large vegetables: ½ to 1 whole piece

Around ½ – 1 courgette, pepper or leek counts as 1 of your 5 A DAY. 1 carrot, parsnip or sweet potato also counts.

Small or sliced vegetables: 3-4 heaped tablespoons

Most cooked veggies (like peas, sweetcorn, sliced cabbage, mushrooms or runner beans) can be measured out in tablespoonfuls on a plate: 3–4 heaped tablespoons will give you 1 portion.

Fruit or vegetable juice: one 150ml glass

No matter how much unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice you drink, it’s only ever going to be 1 portion. Why? Fibre is lost when you break down the fruit or vegetables, and this also means that the sugars naturally found in fruit and vegetables are released and can more easily harm teeth.

Beans and pulses

80g (or 3 tablespoons) of cooked pulses like beans and lentils only count as 1 of your 5 A DAY no matter how much you have. It’s because they don’t have quite the same range of nutrients as fruit and vegetables.

To clock up your portion, you’ll need to eat at least 3 tablespoonfuls.

What about potatoes?

While sweet potatoes can be part of your 5 A DAY, white potatoes, yams, plantain and cassava don’t count because they contain a lot of starch. They should be eaten as the carbohydrate part of your diet instead.