Surprising ways to get your 5-a-day

1. Ready meals

The vegetables in ready meals, such as in vegetarian lasagne or in a chicken chow mein, still count towards your 5-a-day. One of the problems with ready meals, however, is that they usually don’t come with vegetables or salad on the side, so add some. If you’re in a hurry, try cherry tomatoes, or peas or sweetcorn that you can microwave from frozen.

Vegetarian ready meals will generally have a higher vegetable content, but aren’t necessarily healthy – look at the nutrition information and choose those that are as low in saturated fat and salt as possible.

Homemade versions can be healthier, especially if you add vegetables. By cooking in bulk and freezing, you can still have the convenience of a ready meal. 

• Try making your own Chinese dish with our Chinese chicken stir fry recipe. 

2. Dips

Skip the creamy dips (which are usually high in saturated fat) and go for guacamole (without added cream), hummus or tomato salsa.

The avocado, chickpeas or tomato in them will count towards your 5-a-day. A typical serving weighs around 50g (a portion of vegetables is 80g) and that includes other ingredients, so it isn’t a whole portion, but every little helps. Boost your intake further by using vegetable sticks to dip.

You can also try these dips as a substitute for mayonnaise, butter or ketchup in your sandwiches or on the side of your plate.

They are easy and usually cheaper to make yourself: flavour with herbs, spices and lemon juice, not salt. If you are buying ready-made, check the ingredients and nutrition information: choose those with as few ingredients as possible and that are low in salt.

• Read our 10 tips for understanding food labels.
• Try our broad bean dip recipe. 

3. Tomato sauce

Ketchup doesn’t count, but a tomato sauce for pasta or added to bolognese or chilli does. Make your own using tinned tomatoes so you can control what it contains – add your favourite flavourings such as garlic, chilli, basil or oregano instead of sugar or salt. Serve with roasted Mediterranean vegetables for even more of your 5-a-day.

Shop-bought tomato sauce still counts, but check labels and choose the one that’s lowest in salt and sugar.

• Try our recipe for spaghetti and meatballs with a homemade tomato sauce. 

4. Baked beans

Any beans or lentils will count towards your 5-a-day, and that includes baked beans. Make sure you choose low-sugar and low-salt versions or you could try making your own.

Beans or lentils can only count as one of your 5-a-day, but they are a source of protein and fibre, so try adding other types of tinned beans or lentils to your cooking.

• Try our recipe for homemade baked beans.

5. Pizza 

Making your own versions of your favourite takeaway or restaurant pizza can help to cut the calories, fat and salt that they add to your diet, as well as offering an opportunity to increase the amount of vegetables they contain.

Top plain pizza bases with tomato sauce or purée and generous amounts of vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn and mushrooms.

• Try our recipe for chicken and pepper pitta pizzas.