Eating healthy

What's up with me?

My diet sucks. This is step 1 to improving that if (masssive if) I follow through.

The first issue I'm going to tackle is the fact that I don't eat my 5 a day which is super important generally but also for fibre to reduce certain types of cancer.

Here's an example of daily 5 a day:

• Breakfast: 1 cup of orange juice + banana
• Lunch: 7 cherry tomatoes
• Dinner: 2 broccoli spears + 3 heaped spoons of chickpeas

Crazy simple right? Roughly 80g = One of the 5 a day.

It's genuinely absurd how simple it is to meet your 5 a day and much worse it is that I'm not, given my privilege. Consider this my accountability towards my body.

Thought process

Have you ever read atomic habits? I know that a lot of people consider it a performative book and sometimes a little obvious. BUT I actually learnt a lot from it. I know it seems obvious but it's better to start where you are. I always end up not following through with things because I start either without structure or try to do everything at once.

Let's get some assumptions down before we continue:

• I'm going to tackle my diet one group at a time.
• I'm unlikely to want to eat 2 whole plums or satsumas when I can eat 1 banana for much cheaper.
• I will get bored of the same foods all the time. I'm already bored of bananas.
• It is much easier to eat the same type of veg.
• I want more beans in my diet and mediterranean and mexican food tend to have a lot of that.
• Complicated recipes will put me off eating well.
• The veg I add to food has to mesh well meals as in fish and chips can have peas and carrots but cereal probably shouldn't.

Recipes

New recipes

This bean salad recipe contains nearly 4 of the 5 a day but only if I eat all of it...

Additions to Pre-existing meals

Salad, a cup of orange juice, beans in mince, a snacky banana or 2 clementines, frozen veg

Recipes are lovely but how I shop is also really important because the world has gone to bits and we're all broke.

Shopping

Common Methods

5-4-3-2-1

Each number in the 5-4-3-2-1 method represents the quantity of a category of food.

The original version of this method includes: five vegetables, four protein sources, three fruits, two carbohydrates, one “treat”.

My issue is the broadness of carbs. I don't just want to focus on the 5 a day aspect but also on the type of carbs I eat because I'm very much rice/pasta/bread.

3-3-2-2-1

A slightly altered version of the previous one.

Three vegetables, three protein sources, two grains, two fruits, and a dip/spread.

Who uses one dip or spread and who needs to buy one every week??

Log

Day 1 - 27/09/26

1 banana + 1 easy peeler tangerine (~62.5g).

Nearly 2 of the 5 a day.