We all know we are supposed to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. But what does one portion of fruit and vegetables look like? We’ve compiled a chart which shows 5-a-day portion sizes of 30 everyday fruit and vegetables for easy reference.
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Why 5-a-day?
In 1990 (page 12) and 2003 (page 89) the World Health Organisation recommended the consumption of at least 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
The recommendation of 400g is equivalent to five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables. The 2003 report was the basis of the UK Government’s 5-a-day campaign.
What counts as 5-a-day?
The NHS website suggests the following counts as one of your 5-a-day:
- 80g of fruit and veg (not including potatoes or coconut)
- 30g dried fruit
- 80g pulses (only one portion a day)
- 150ml fruit juice/smoothie (only one portion a day)
What does 80g looks like?
There is some conflicting advice about what counts as as 80g of fruit and vegetables. Even on NHS websites, for example this source says one stick of celery and this source says one and a half sticks of celery.
However, these recommendations are only meant to be a rough guide, and it will always depend on the size of your fruit and vegetables.
Hopefully our guide will provide a useful reference point and avoid the need to measure quantities of fruit and vegetables.
How much are we currently consuming in the UK?
The latest Government data (as at October 2020) suggests that we are falling short of the 5-a-day recommendations.
The table below shows the number of portions across age groups, with children aged 11-18 consuming the least.
| Age | 5-a-day portions |
| 11-18 | 2.7 |
| 19-64 | 4.2 |
| 65+ | 3.9 |
How to eat more fruit and vegetables?
If you would like to eat more fruit and vegetables, please check out of free recipes here. We also have a meal-prep guide which provides five easy dishes for your weekly portions of fruit and vegetables.