Moving to a foreign country can be one of the most daunting things anyone can do. Differences in culture, language, behaviour, and a wide range of other unexpected elements can make adjusting to a new home very challenging. One British woman who moved to the USA came across an unexpected problem when she made a reference to something every Brit would understand – but which left her American friends completely baffled.

Lucy, who posts on TikTok as lucy_inlalaland, is a teacher from the UK who now lives in Los Angeles, California, and regularly shares her observations on differences between the two cultures. In a recent video she spoke about a surprising moment when she used a phrase she hadn’t realised would be completely alien to Americans.

In her video she said: “I’m English but I live in America, and last night I said something in front of a group of people that just didn’t translate to Americans at all. I made a salsa for an Oscars watch party thing, and it had loads of vegetables in it.

“So [I said] ‘ah ha ha enjoy that, it’s got all of your five a day in it’ and everyone was like ‘what?’ I was like ‘your five a day?’.

“And my husband looked at me and he goes ‘I think that’s only a thing in England’.

“So yeah, your five a day. We all know what that is Brits, but the rest of the world, they don’t know. But you need your five a day.”

Of course, five a day refers to health advice by the government and the NHS that everyone should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day to ensure they are getting enough nutrients and vitamins. The advice, originally issued by the World Health Organisation, was formerly adopted by the UK Government in 2003, and has since passed into everyday use.

People in the comments had a range of views. One said: “Brit who lives in the States, and yeah, that one is not known at all! That said… I’m a little interested (read worried) about lots of vegetables in salsa… I mean, aside from onions, what other veg are you putting in there?!?”

Another said: “I work for a US firm and I’m constantly saying things I panic the US guys won’t know. Today it was ‘had my fingers in so many pies’, but thank God they knew what I meant.”

But someone else said: “I’m in NY (New York) and I would definitely have got it. I feel like it’s a fairly common saying. I thought it was based on the US food pyramid.” And another wrote: “It translates just fine… I get it, just wouldn’t ever say it.”

What counts towards your five-a-day?

According to the NHS, the following things count as one portion towards your five a day:

• 80g of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit or vegetables
• 30g of dried fruit

Multiple portions of either of these can be consumed to reach the five a day target. For example, three portions of fresh fruit and two of dried fruit would count as five portions. These do not have to be eaten on their own – they count when included in a meal, such as in a stew, soup, or pasta sauce.

These only count as one portion in a single day, regardless of how many portions you consume:

• 150ml of fruit juice, vegetable juice, or smoothies. These only count as one portion due to their high sugar content.
• 80g of beans and pulses. While these are a good source of fibre, they contain fewer nutrients than fruits or vegetables.

Potatoes do not count towards your five a day. While they do contain vitamins B and C, fibre, and potassium, they are usually used in meals as a source of starch, similar to bread, pasta, and rice. As a result, they are not included in the five a day. Yams, plantain, and cassava also do not count, but sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes, and turnips do.