What counts as one of your 5 a day?
One portion is 80g of fruit or vegetables. That is the whole rule, and it is useless on its own — nobody weighs a banana. Here is what 80g actually looks like, for every food 5erday knows about.
The short answer
- One portion is 80g of fresh, frozen, tinned or cooked fruit or vegetables. Frozen and tinned count exactly the same as fresh.
- Juice and smoothies count once a day, between them, however much you drink.
- Dried fruit counts once a day, and a portion is 30g rather than 80g.
- Beans and pulses count once a day, however many you eat.
- Potatoes do not count at all. Nor do yams or cassava. Sweet potatoes do.
- Variety matters as much as the number. Five apples is five portions and one plant.
Why potatoes do not count
They are classed as a starchy food, like bread, rice and pasta, because that is the job they do in a meal. The same goes for yams, cassava and plantain. Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swede and turnips do count, because they are eaten as vegetables alongside the starchy part of a meal rather than as it.
It is the most common thing people get wrong, and it is worth knowing before you count a plate of chips towards your five.
Does juice count towards your 5 a day?
Yes, but only once a day. A 150ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice is one portion. A second glass is not a second portion, and juice plus a smoothie is still one between them.
Juicing and blending release the sugars that are otherwise locked inside the fruit, and juicing removes most of the fibre. That is the reason for the cap, and it is also why the advice is to drink it with a meal rather than between them.
Do beans and pulses count?
Yes, once a day. Three heaped tablespoons — about 80g — of baked beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils or butter beans is one portion. Eating more does not make it two.
The cap is there because pulses contain fewer of the vitamins and minerals you get from other fruit and vegetables, even though they are excellent for fibre and protein.
Dried fruit
30g, once a day. That is roughly a heaped tablespoon of raisins, or three dried apricots, or three prunes. The portion is smaller than 80g because drying removes the water and concentrates everything else, sugar included.
The foods that only count once a day
13 of the 101 foods below carry a daily cap. 5erday applies these automatically, so a second glass of juice does not quietly become a second portion.
- Apple juice
- Baked beans
- Black beans
- Butter beans
- Chickpeas
- Dates
- Dried apricots
- Edamame
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Orange juice
- Prunes
- Raisins
Portion sizes for every food
101 fruits and vegetables, with what one portion actually looks like. These are the same figures 5erday uses when you log something, not a separate list that can drift.
| Food | One portion is | Colour group |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 1 medium apple | Red |
| Apple juice · once a day | Small glass (150 ml) | Orange and yellow |
| Apricot | 3 apricots | Orange and yellow |
| Artichoke | 1 globe artichoke | Green |
| Asparagus | 5 spears (80 g) | Green |
| Aubergine | Half an aubergine | Purple and blue |
| Avocado | Half an avocado | Green |
| Baby corn | 6 baby corn (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Baked beans · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Banana | 1 medium banana | White and brown |
| Beansprouts | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Beetroot | 3 baby beets (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Black beans · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Blackberries | Handful (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Blackcurrants | Handful (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Blueberries | Handful (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Broad beans | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Broccoli | 8 florets (80 g) | Green |
| Brussels sprouts | 8 sprouts (80 g) | Green |
| Butter beans · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Butternut squash | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Cabbage | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Carrot | 1 medium carrot | Orange and yellow |
| Cauliflower | 8 florets (80 g) | White and brown |
| Celeriac | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Celery | 3 sticks (80 g) | Green |
| Chard | 2 handfuls (80 g) | Green |
| Cherries | 14 cherries (80 g) | Red |
| Chickpeas · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Clementine | 2 clementines | Orange and yellow |
| Coconut | 80 g fresh coconut | White and brown |
| Courgette | Half a courgette | Green |
| Cranberries | Handful (80 g) | Red |
| Cucumber | 5 cm piece (80 g) | Green |
| Dates · once a day | 3 dates (30 g) | White and brown |
| Dragon fruit | Half a dragon fruit | Red |
| Dried apricots · once a day | 3 dried apricots (30 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Edamame · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Fennel | Half a bulb (80 g) | White and brown |
| Figs | 2 figs | Purple and blue |
| Gooseberries | Handful (80 g) | Green |
| Grapefruit | Half a grapefruit | Red |
| Grapes | Handful (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Green beans | 4 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Green pepper | Half a pepper | Green |
| Guava | 1 guava | Green |
| Kale | 4 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Kidney beans · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Red |
| Kiwi | 2 kiwi fruit | Green |
| Kumquat | 6 kumquats (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Leek | Half a leek | White and brown |
| Lemon | 1 whole lemon | Orange and yellow |
| Lentils · once a day | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Lettuce | Bowl of leaves (80 g) | Green |
| Lime | 2 whole limes | Green |
| Lychee | 6 lychees (80 g) | Red |
| Mandarin | 2 mandarins | Orange and yellow |
| Mangetout | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Mango | 2 slices (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Melon | 1 wedge (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Mushrooms | 3 handfuls (80 g) | White and brown |
| Nectarine | 1 nectarine | Orange and yellow |
| Okra | 8 okra (80 g) | Green |
| Onion | 1 medium onion | White and brown |
| Orange | 1 orange | Orange and yellow |
| Orange juice · once a day | 1 small glass (150 ml) | Orange and yellow |
| Pak choi | 1 head (80 g) | Green |
| Papaya | Half a small papaya | Orange and yellow |
| Parsnip | 1 medium parsnip | White and brown |
| Passion fruit | 3 passion fruit | Purple and blue |
| Peach | 1 peach | Orange and yellow |
| Pear | 1 medium pear | Green |
| Peas | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Persimmon | 1 persimmon | Orange and yellow |
| Pineapple | 1 large slice (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Plum | 2 plums | Purple and blue |
| Pomegranate | 4 tbsp seeds (80 g) | Red |
| Prunes · once a day | 3 prunes (30 g) | Purple and blue |
| Pumpkin | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Radish | 10 radishes (80 g) | Red |
| Raisins · once a day | 1 heaped tbsp (30 g) | Purple and blue |
| Raspberries | Handful (80 g) | Red |
| Red cabbage | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Purple and blue |
| Red pepper | Half a pepper | Red |
| Redcurrants | Handful (80 g) | Red |
| Rhubarb | 2 stalks (80 g) | Red |
| Rocket | Large handful (80 g) | Green |
| Satsuma | 2 satsumas | Orange and yellow |
| Spinach | 4 tbsp cooked (80 g) | Green |
| Spring greens | 4 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Spring onion | 8 spring onions (80 g) | Green |
| Strawberries | 7 strawberries (80 g) | Red |
| Sugar snap peas | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Green |
| Swede | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Sweet potato | Half a large one (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Sweetcorn | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | Orange and yellow |
| Tomato | 1 medium tomato | Red |
| Turnip | 3 heaped tbsp (80 g) | White and brown |
| Watercress | 1 cereal bowl (80 g) | Green |
| Watermelon | 1 slice (80 g) | Red |
| Yellow pepper | Half a pepper | Orange and yellow |
Five is the goal. Variety is the point.
Hitting five portions of the same three foods every week is five portions, and it is not what the advice is for. Different plants carry different nutrients, and the colour groups in the table above are a rough shorthand for that. 5erday tracks how many distinct plants you eat over a rolling week for exactly this reason.
Portion guidance follows the NHS 5 A Day advice. 5erday counts portions against that guidance and is not medical advice — see our terms.