We want to aim for a source of PROTEIN at each meal, then we want to build upon that foundation with some plants.

Plants are NUTRIENT DENSE FOODS (NDFs) 

Vegetables, salads, berries, fruit. These foods are typically lower calorie, high in volume, and provide a wide range of health benefits.

Benefits

• We get a lot of our vitamins,  minerals, antioxidants and fibre from plants. They are low calorie and add volume to our meals.

Portion sizes

• Aim to eat at least 5 fists of veggies and salads sized serves per day as a minimum - the 5 Fists of Fortitude.

• Aim for at least 300 grams (2 medium sized pieces / handfuls of berries) per day as a minimum - the Fortitude 300

Ideal sources

• Vegetables, salads, berries and fruit.

• Aim to eat the rainbow, a variety of different plants and see if you can add to your favourites list over time.

When

• Each meal, though if you do miss plants in one meal just aim to make it up with a bigger portion at another. You might notice the meals without plants aren’t as filling as that’s why having them at each meal is our recommendation.

How to prepare it

• Roast trays of vegetables in the oven and portion them out, make big salads, don’t be afraid to eat them whole. In colder weather, soups and stews are great.

How to shop, keep prices down

• Buy seasonally as they are usually the cheapest options at the time and freshest. Usually what’s on sale is in season. Try not to have a set idea in your head when you go shopping of what you need, buy what’s on sale to cut costs and get variety over time.

EAT THE RAINBOW
Each coloured group of plants are associated with a list of health benefits. Hence why it is important to consume a range of different colours or EAT THE RAINBOW.

Here are a few tips when it comes to adding plants to your meals:

• Start with the ones your enjoy

• You can add flavour to them, eg. Roasting with herbs and spices

• Frozen options are also great

• Tinned options are great backups

• Add them to your smoothies if you don't really like the taste

• Make big veggies sauces with passata (tomato puree) and grated veggies

• Prepare them in a way you enjoy. Don't like boiled broccoli? Try pan frying or roasting it with garlic and some butter or oil.

Only about 7% of Australian adults eat the recommended 5 serves of veggies each day and only about 50% eat the recommended serves of fruit per day.

Plants are the perfect tool to help add to the size of your meals.

Bulk your meals with plants to satisfy your hunger signals and keep you feeling fuller for longer!

Tracking plants

If you are tracking your calories, make it easy and track averages, rather than individual plants.

If using the FNC Diet Builder, you will already be selecting “mixed / averaged” for fruit, berries and veggies.

If using MFP - we’ve added these averages to the food options. Search “teamfnc” when entering your plants to find those options.

Frozen and tinned are great options as well as fresh. Having some 'emergency' frozen veggies and berries, along with some 'emergency' tins of fruit and vegetables is a great idea.

Adding some flavour, despite some Calories and added sugar in sauce, is almost definitely going to be a positive.

There are plenty of low-calorie / low-sugar flavour sauce options. Over time you might even find that you develop a taste for veggies and need less sauce.

Have you heard that fruit makes you fat?

Fat gain occurs when you consume more calories than you burn. It's not gained by the consumption of a single food or food type.

Fruit is very low calorie per bite and quite filling due to it's fibre and water content. It is extremely unlikely that fruit would be the cause of anyone's fat gain. 

Please stop fearing fruit.

Please stop listening to people who tell you to stop eating fruit.