What Counts as 5 a Day? A Plain Guide for Parents

You know you are meant to eat five a day. You probably also know that, by the time you have scraped the fish fingers off three plates and eaten the crusts standing up, you have no idea how many you actually managed. Does the ketchup count? The orange squash? The baked beans you had twice? This post answers what counts as 5 a day in plain English, using the NHS rules, so you can stop guessing and get on with your evening.

I coach busy mums and dads in Archway, and food comes up in almost every session. Not because people want a diet plan, but because they want to feel less flat by 3pm. Getting your fruit and veg sorted is one of the simplest places to start.

What counts as 5 a day: the short answer

According to the NHS page 5 A Day: what counts?, almost all fruit and vegetables count. That includes:

• Fresh fruit and veg, raw or cooked
• Frozen fruit and veg (frozen peas are just as valid as fresh ones)
• Tinned fruit and veg, ideally in water or natural juice with no added sugar or salt
• Fruit and veg cooked into meals, like the onions, carrots and tomatoes in a bolognese or the veg in a soup
• Dried fruit, in a smaller portion
• Juice and smoothies, but only once a day
• Beans and pulses, but only once a day

Ready meals and shop-bought sauces or soups can count too, but the NHS points out they can be high in salt, sugar or fat, so check the label and treat them as an occasional help rather than the main plan.

How big is one portion?

For adults, one portion is 80g of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit or veg. In real life, that looks roughly like:

• 1 medium apple, banana, pear or orange
• 2 satsumas or 2 kiwis
• A handful of grapes or berries
• 3 heaped tablespoons of peas, sweetcorn or mixed veg
• 2 broccoli spears
• A cereal bowl of salad
• Half a tin of chopped tomatoes in a sauce

A few special rules are worth knowing:

• Dried fruit: 30g counts as one portion. That is about a heaped tablespoon of raisins. The NHS suggests eating it with meals rather than as a snack between meals, because it sticks to teeth.
• Juice and smoothies: a combined total of 150ml a day counts as one portion, however much you drink. Two glasses does not make two portions.
• Beans and pulses: 80g of lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans or similar counts as one portion, but only once a day. Green beans are the exception, because they count as a normal vegetable.

Children’s portions are smaller. A simple rule many parents use is that a portion for a child is roughly what fits in the palm of their hand.

What does not count

This is where most people get caught out:

• Potatoes do not count, because they are a starchy food eaten instead of bread, rice or pasta. The same goes for yams, cassava and plantain.
• Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count, because they are usually eaten alongside the starchy part of the meal.
• Ketchup, jam and fruit-flavoured sweets are not portions of fruit or veg, whatever the packaging says.
• Squash and fruit-flavoured drinks are not juice and do not count.

Potatoes are still a useful food, by the way. Keep the skins on for extra fibre. They just do not get you any closer to five.

A realistic 5 a day for a tired parent

You do not need a fridge full of kale. Here is one ordinary day that gets you to five without any extra cooking:

1. Breakfast: a sliced banana on porridge or cereal (1 portion).
2. Mid-morning: an apple or two satsumas in your bag (1 portion).
3. Lunch: a sandwich or wrap with a big handful of salad, plus some cherry tomatoes on the side (1 portion).
4. Dinner: pasta with a sauce made from a tin of chopped tomatoes and a handful of frozen peppers (1 portion), plus 3 tablespoons of frozen peas on the side (1 portion).

That is five, and the most effort involved was opening a freezer bag. If you want to go further, add a small glass of juice with breakfast or chuck a handful of spinach into the sauce.

My five “lazy parent” shortcuts

• Keep frozen veg on rotation. Peas, sweetcorn, spinach, mixed peppers and berries do not go off. I wrote more about this in are frozen vegetables healthy.
• Double the veg in every sauce. Grated carrot and courgette disappear into bolognese, chilli and curry. Kids rarely notice.
• Put fruit where you can see it. A bowl by the front door gets eaten. A bag in the bottom drawer gets thrown away.
• Use tins. Tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, sweetcorn and fruit in juice are cheap and last for months.
• Count yours, not just the kids’. Many parents I meet make sure the children get their fruit and then forget their own. Eating the kids’ leftovers does not count as a meal, as I explain in how to stop eating your kids’ leftovers.

Why it matters if you train

Fruit and veg give you fibre, vitamins and minerals, and they fill you up for relatively few calories. In my experience, the parents who eat a decent amount of plants tend to cope better with early starts and busy weeks. They are not more disciplined. They are just less likely to be running on biscuits and coffee.

If you come to a class, a banana before and a proper meal with veg after is a solid routine. My post on healthy family meals on a budget has plenty of dinners that tick the veg box for everyone at the table.

Food and movement work together. If your afternoons feel like wading through mud, our SYP Recharge energy and focus class pairs well with getting your five a day sorted.

FAQs

Do baked beans count as one of your 5 a day?

Yes. Baked beans are pulses, so 80g counts as one portion. Like all beans and pulses, they only count once a day, however many you eat. Look for reduced sugar and salt versions where you can.

Does fruit juice count towards 5 a day?

Up to 150ml of juice or smoothie counts as one portion a day. More than that still only counts as one, and the NHS advises having it with a meal to protect teeth.

Do potatoes count as 5 a day?

No. Potatoes count as a starchy food, not a vegetable, for 5 a day. Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count.

Does fruit in a ready meal or soup count?

Yes, the fruit and veg in ready meals, soups and sauces can count. Just check the label, because some are high in salt, fat or sugar.

Book your first class

Good food makes training feel easier, and training makes you want to look after yourself a bit more. If you are ready to start, SYP Bootcamp runs 45-minute small-group classes in a warm church hall in Archway N19, with a maximum of 10 people and every exercise scaled to your level. It is £15 a class. Book your £15 class here, or call or WhatsApp me on 07301 512215 if you have questions first. If you would rather have food habits and training planned around you personally, have a look at the SYP Fitness transformation programme.

About the author

Artem Olekhnovych is a personal trainer in Archway and the founder of SYP Fitness and SYP Bootcamp. He has coached clients in Archway, Highgate and across North London for over 10 years, and runs small-group bootcamp classes for busy mums and dads. Read reviews from his 1-1 clients.