How many *different* fruits and vegetables does your kid eat per week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one in my family gets anywhere near that variety, mostly because I have neither the time to meal plan and shop to that extent nor the money to hire a personal chef.

We tend to buy what's in season, so we get a reasonable variety over time, but not in any given week.

I don't have that much time to meal plan and not much money-- I buy what's on sale and that's a big contributor to our variety, as what's on sale changes every week.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think that is a realistic recommendation. If you had a garden/farm, you wouldn’t have 25 diff fruits/vegetables ready to harvest within a given week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your mother have advanced nutritional training? I mean, I appreciate that she's a doctor, but the vast majority of MDs have incredibly poor nutritional knowledge.

Actually, she's retired, but spent most of her career in research. I agree that most MDs know nothing about nutrition, but do you think her recommendation (which was more of a loose guideline or "game" I could play) is "incredibly poor" advice? It was only one recommendation among many, and not intended to be a cure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that is a realistic recommendation. If you had a garden/farm, you wouldn’t have 25 diff fruits/vegetables ready to harvest within a given week.

Well, yeah, it would actually be MORE unrealistic if you had a farm (only certain things are in season in a given climate), but if you had a farm, you'd be getting more exercise and there would be a bunch of other health benefits (or could be). If you have access to grocery stores and occasional restaurants, it's more realistic. I'm not sure why anyone is taking this as some sort of prescription from on high, by the way-- her recommendation generally is to have a varied diet-- the game she proposed to me was d/t my specific health concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the course of last week -
Apples
Bananas,
Grapes
Mango
Oranges
Strawberries
Blueberry
Melons
Pineapple (can)
Guava
Lemon

Vegetable and herbs -
Onions, Ginger, Garlic, raw Turmeric, Tomatoes, Mint, Cilantro, Green chillies, Thai Basil, Lemon Grass, Galangal, Shallots

Spinach
Eggplant
Okra
Wax Gourd
Corn
Bell Peppers
Eggplant
Broccoli
Cabbage
BokChoy
Snow Peas
Peas
Mushrooms (4 types)
Cauliflower
Zuccini
Brussles Sprout
Potatoes
Okinawa Purple Yams
Red Pumpkin
Baby Corn
Water chestnut
Bamboo Shoots
Yard long beans
Green beans
Sunflower Sprouts
Mung Bean Sprouts
Mustard Greens
Purlane (Kulpha)
Kale
Cucumber

POH-TAH-TOES

Not the PP, but I never understand this type of response. It's a fun exercise if it's fun for you. Some people will be outliers. No one told the PP this morning that they'd have an opportunity to "show off," so since they're just literally answering the question, your eye roll comes off as defensive and insecure. It's like when people ask when your baby started walking and someone says 7 months. Is that showing off? Is that being insufferable? Only on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

25 seems like a lot.

But, I guess it depends on what you count.

I like pizza with lots of toppings. So in one slice of pizza I could have: tomato, spinach, peppers, broccoli, onion, mushroom, olives, garlic. That's 8 right there.

In a salad I'll eat: kale, spinach, cucumber, corn, carrot, tomato, peas, beets, etc etc, easily 10 things.

For my kid though, no he doesn't get that kind of variety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one in my family gets anywhere near that variety, mostly because I have neither the time to meal plan and shop to that extent nor the money to hire a personal chef.

We tend to buy what's in season, so we get a reasonable variety over time, but not in any given week.

I don't have that much time to meal plan and not much money-- I buy what's on sale and that's a big contributor to our variety, as what's on sale changes every week.

Somewhat, but some things also rarely go on sale. And as much as supply drives sales, the variation is seasonal. There's just not a lot of cheap melon available right now, nor would I expect there to be. I'm fine with seasonal variation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that is a realistic recommendation. If you had a garden/farm, you wouldn’t have 25 diff fruits/vegetables ready to harvest within a given week.

Well, yeah, it would actually be MORE unrealistic if you had a farm (only certain things are in season in a given climate), but if you had a farm, you'd be getting more exercise and there would be a bunch of other health benefits (or could be). If you have access to grocery stores and occasional restaurants, it's more realistic. I'm not sure why anyone is taking this as some sort of prescription from on high, by the way-- her recommendation generally is to have a varied diet-- the game she proposed to me was d/t my specific health concerns.

Well it just seems like a very random/arbitrary recommendation that’s not based on anything.... And yes your original post makes it sound like a “prescription from on high” because this is how your mom, an MD, is telling you how to address a health problem, and now you’ve got a whole thread of people measuring their child’s diet based on this silly guideline your mom came up with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one in my family gets anywhere near that variety, mostly because I have neither the time to meal plan and shop to that extent nor the money to hire a personal chef.

We tend to buy what's in season, so we get a reasonable variety over time, but not in any given week.

I don't have that much time to meal plan and not much money-- I buy what's on sale and that's a big contributor to our variety, as what's on sale changes every week.

Somewhat, but some things also rarely go on sale. And as much as supply drives sales, the variation is seasonal. There's just not a lot of cheap melon available right now, nor would I expect there to be. I'm fine with seasonal variation.

Oh, I agree, but to be fair, I also shop at Aldi once a month, where some things are always cheap. Especially if I include frozen fruits and vegetables, it's not hard for us to get a lot of variety on a budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not volume of produce, but number of varieties.

I have been having some health issues, so my mom-- a doctor-- has advised me (among other things, of course!) to try and eat 25 different fruits and vegetables per week. The amount of each individual variety is unimportant, although I'm sure a single leaf of arugula might not allow me to count arugula.

This got me thinking about my kid-- and kids in general-- and how varied their intake is. What about yours? Do you make any efforts along these lines, or do they eat a variety organically (so to speak)?

Apples
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Potatoes
tomatoes
Berries if in season
Kale
Spinach

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your mother have advanced nutritional training? I mean, I appreciate that she's a doctor, but the vast majority of MDs have incredibly poor nutritional knowledge.

Actually, she's retired, but spent most of her career in research. I agree that most MDs know nothing about nutrition, but do you think her recommendation (which was more of a loose guideline or "game" I could play) is "incredibly poor" advice? It was only one recommendation among many, and not intended to be a cure.

I think it's unrealistic if she's seriously saying "per week." If she says "per two months" MAYBE. Nature doesn't provide that much variation. It's just crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that is a realistic recommendation. If you had a garden/farm, you wouldn’t have 25 diff fruits/vegetables ready to harvest within a given week.

Well, yeah, it would actually be MORE unrealistic if you had a farm (only certain things are in season in a given climate), but if you had a farm, you'd be getting more exercise and there would be a bunch of other health benefits (or could be). If you have access to grocery stores and occasional restaurants, it's more realistic. I'm not sure why anyone is taking this as some sort of prescription from on high, by the way-- her recommendation generally is to have a varied diet-- the game she proposed to me was d/t my specific health concerns.

Well it just seems like a very random/arbitrary recommendation that’s not based on anything.... And yes your original post makes it sound like a “prescription from on high” because this is how your mom, an MD, is telling you how to address a health problem, and now you’ve got a whole thread of people measuring their child’s diet based on this silly guideline your mom came up with.

Perfectly put.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that is a realistic recommendation. If you had a garden/farm, you wouldn’t have 25 diff fruits/vegetables ready to harvest within a given week.

Well, yeah, it would actually be MORE unrealistic if you had a farm (only certain things are in season in a given climate), but if you had a farm, you'd be getting more exercise and there would be a bunch of other health benefits (or could be). If you have access to grocery stores and occasional restaurants, it's more realistic. I'm not sure why anyone is taking this as some sort of prescription from on high, by the way-- her recommendation generally is to have a varied diet-- the game she proposed to me was d/t my specific health concerns.

Well it just seems like a very random/arbitrary recommendation that’s not based on anything.... And yes your original post makes it sound like a “prescription from on high” because this is how your mom, an MD, is telling you how to address a health problem, and now you’ve got a whole thread of people measuring their child’s diet based on this silly guideline your mom came up with.

Seriously? The general recommendation to eat a variety 1) was not created by her and 2) is based on quite a lot of research. The "silly" number 25 was something concrete for ME to shoot for, which is explicit in the OP. And if people are reading this and getting anxious or feeling inadequate, that's on them, not me. It's just food ( ) for thought and less prescriptive than even "Strive for Five." Maybe it's because my mom is a doctor, and I know how many crappy ones there are, but I would absolutely never take the thoughts of one doctor as Gospel. But you do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one in my family gets anywhere near that variety, mostly because I have neither the time to meal plan and shop to that extent nor the money to hire a personal chef.

We tend to buy what's in season, so we get a reasonable variety over time, but not in any given week.

I don't have that much time to meal plan and not much money-- I buy what's on sale and that's a big contributor to our variety, as what's on sale changes every week.

Somewhat, but some things also rarely go on sale. And as much as supply drives sales, the variation is seasonal. There's just not a lot of cheap melon available right now, nor would I expect there to be. I'm fine with seasonal variation.

Oh, I agree, but to be fair, I also shop at Aldi once a month, where some things are always cheap. Especially if I include frozen fruits and vegetables, it's not hard for us to get a lot of variety on a budget.

Good point on the frozen fruits especially! I'll have to get some now that we're getting into warmer weather (which to me is smoothie season).

We shop at Aldi weekly, and sometimes have issues with the produce quality. But, yeah, it's much easier to throw a container of berries into the cart when they don't cost an arm and a leg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your mother have advanced nutritional training? I mean, I appreciate that she's a doctor, but the vast majority of MDs have incredibly poor nutritional knowledge.

Actually, she's retired, but spent most of her career in research. I agree that most MDs know nothing about nutrition, but do you think her recommendation (which was more of a loose guideline or "game" I could play) is "incredibly poor" advice? It was only one recommendation among many, and not intended to be a cure.

I think it's unrealistic if she's seriously saying "per week." If she says "per two months" MAYBE. Nature doesn't provide that much variation. It's just crazy.

Nature does a lot of things. Most of us don't "live naturally." Eating a hyperlocal, limited, seasonal diet makes sense (maybe?) if it comes with everything else that a "natural" lifestyle affords. Actually, in the "natural" past, it would have included a huge variety of native flora that have been pushed out in favor of red delicious apples and white potatoes, so you probably would be getting a pretty good variety. And then there's also canning (which isn't incredibly old, but old enough) and eating things out of season in that way. In any event, I think if you-- as most of us do-- also eat rice and corn and bread and sugar and a bunch of other highly modified and non-local items, trying to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables along with that makes sense.