Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Picnic Recipes Galore
Corner-Store Party Food on the Fly
9 Chili Recipes, Bison to Vegan
How to Choose the Best Strawberries
Sausage Recipes of the Month
Despite the trendiness of Meatless Monday, the glamorous "vegetable butcher" at Italian megamart Eataly in New York, and the Pollanification of our diets, a staggering number of Americans still don't consume the recommended daily amounts of vegetables and fruits. How staggering? 93.6 percent of us don't hit our vegetable target, and 92.4 percent of us don't hit our fruit target, according to stats from the Produce for Better Health Foundation's State of the Plate: 2010 Study.
Why Should I Care About Rabbit Food?
This is why: People who get enough fruits and vegetables in their diet tend to have healthy weights, says Colleen Doyle, the director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society, and "weight is the key factor for cancer risk."
So How Much Do I Need to Eat Each Day?
The whole confusing and vague idea of eating enough "servings" has pretty much been scrapped, and now the powers that be (the USDA, CDC, Department of Health & Human Services) are talking cups. Yes, normal measuring cups—the kind you actually use in the kitchen. Someone who eats, on average, 2,000 calories a day needs about two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables per day, says Dr. Lilian Cheung, a lecturer in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. But individual needs will vary based on age, physical activity, and gender, so the easiest way to find out what's right for you is to use the CDC's online calculator.
So what counts as a cup of produce? We've created a visual chart based on data from the USDA and some chopping and measuring in our test kitchen. For most produce, the suggested one cup is directly equal to one cup of the given fruit or vegetable, but there are a few exceptions, like raw leafy greens (two cups are actually counted as one cup toward your daily ration of vegetables) and dried fruit (a half cup is counted as one cup). Don't panic—when all was measured and we had a visual frame of reference, four and a half cups a day seemed a lot more doable than we originally thought.
And while the USDA says it's technically OK, we are trying not to let french fries and juice count toward our fruit-and-vegetable allotment. Keep it real.
Vegetable Servings That Equal a Cup
Asparagus: About 4 spears
Beans, Cooked (black, garbanzo, etc.): 1 cup
Bell Pepper: 1 cup chopped or 1 large pepper (about 3 inches in diameter)
Broccoli: A generous fistful (tennis ball size) of florets or about 16 small florets
Carrots: 1 cup chopped or 2 medium whole carrots (6 to 7 inches long)
Cauliflower: A little less than a 1/4 head of florets
Celery: 1 cup diced or 2 stalks (11 to 12 inches long)
Corn: 1 cup of kernels or 1 large ear (8 to 9 inches long)
Cucumber: 1 cup sliced/chopped or about 1/2 of a medium cucumber (8 to 9 inches long)
Green Beans: 1 cup cooked (we counted: It's about 19 to 20 beans)
Greens, Cooked (kale, chard, etc.): 1 cup
Greens, Raw (lettuce, spinach, etc.): 2 cups (about two large leaves of chopped romaine)
Summer Squash: 1 cup cooked/sliced/diced squash or 1 whole zucchini (7 to 8 inches long) or about 1/2 of a large yellow crookneck
Sweet Potato: 1 cup mashed or 1 large baked potato (about 2 1/4 inches in diameter)
Fruit Servings That Equal a Cup
Apple: 1 small apple (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, a little smaller than a baseball)
Banana: 1 large banana (8 to 9 inches long)
Cantaloupe: 1 cup diced or about 1/8 of a large melon
Dried Fruit: 1/2 cup
Grapefruit: 1 medium grapefruit (about 4 inches across)
Grapes: About 32 average grapes
Orange: 1 large orange (a little bigger than a baseball)
Peach: 1 large peach (about the size of a tennis ball)
Pear: 1 medium pear
Pineapple: 1 cup chopped (a little less than 1/4 of a pineapple)
Plum: 2 large plums
Strawberries: 8 large berries
Tomato: 1 cup chopped or 1 large tomato (about 3 inches in diameter, about the size of a baseball)
"Hey, Aramek! Only eat four spears of Asparagus!"
Even more addicting than chips, there is noooo way I can only eat four Asparagusses!
Reread the article and edited my grocery list--the examples look so tasty and are so PRETTY!
Forgot this article was old, reread it and the comments and had he same response.
well written article
Dr. Prem Raj Pushpakaran
How much eggplant is a cup? (In baked 1/2" slices, say...)
avoid fruits at all costs? That's bad advice. Don't drink fruit juice all day an survive on dried fruits, but any sip or bite of those that keeps you away from processed food and drink is a great move. Dried mangoes and apricots are a great healthy snack. Eat FOOD. Not too much. Mostly vegetables.
Loved the pictures to help me visualize a portion... thanks!
it's easy to overdo the fruit, especially with dried fruit or juices- they are laden with sugar, so avoid them at all costs. In addition, some fruits contain more fructose than other- look up "fruits with lowest sugars" on a search engine and you'll see what I mean.
As for Veggies, you can go crazy, they don't make you fat unless you are adding sticks of butter to them- steaming them is better...+READ
it's easy to overdo the fruit, especially with dried fruit or juices- they are laden with sugar, so avoid them at all costs. In addition, some fruits contain more fructose than other- look up "fruits with lowest sugars" on a search engine and you'll see what I mean.
As for Veggies, you can go crazy, they don't make you fat unless you are adding sticks of butter to them- steaming them is better than boiling since it preserves more nutrients.
Believe me, I'm a big meat-eater myself, but when it comes down to it, you need to include fruits and veggies for Fiber, Phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and a balanced diet. You are what you eat, and your body and health can be a testament to that.-COLLAPSE
"And while the USDA says it's technically OK, we are trying not to let french fries and juice count toward our fruit-and-vegetable allotment."
This should serve as a perfectly good reason not to trust the USDA's food pyramid, which emphasizes grains, meat, and dairy. That coupled with the fact that the food pyramid is created by the same organization that provides fat subsidies to growers of...+READ
"And while the USDA says it's technically OK, we are trying not to let french fries and juice count toward our fruit-and-vegetable allotment."
This should serve as a perfectly good reason not to trust the USDA's food pyramid, which emphasizes grains, meat, and dairy. That coupled with the fact that the food pyramid is created by the same organization that provides fat subsidies to growers of rice, wheat, corn, and soy.-COLLAPSE
how the heck do grapes have fat?
It's 3.5 calories a grape. That is 7 calories for two extra if the picture is wrong. 10 grapes have 1 gram of fat so that is 2/5 of a gram of fat for two. 10 grapes have 9 grams of carbs so that is 1.8 grams of carbs for two. There are 8 sugars for 10 so that is 1.6 grams of sugar for two. For two grapes: It has 1/10 of 1% of vitamin A. 0.9 of vitamin C. [10 has 9% of 200 calorie diet] Iron is...+READ
It's 3.5 calories a grape. That is 7 calories for two extra if the picture is wrong. 10 grapes have 1 gram of fat so that is 2/5 of a gram of fat for two. 10 grapes have 9 grams of carbs so that is 1.8 grams of carbs for two. There are 8 sugars for 10 so that is 1.6 grams of sugar for two. For two grapes: It has 1/10 of 1% of vitamin A. 0.9 of vitamin C. [10 has 9% of 200 calorie diet] Iron is 1/10 of 1% for 2. I feel really bad when you have to micromanage like this. We have to do it on fat and frankly ignore the recommended sizes and calculate everything. If you have to micromanage it is the only way.-COLLAPSE
"A staggering number of Americans?" "8 berries?" From the "nutritional advice I've seen, I'll stick to meat.
When you smother vegetables with mayo, aren't you negating a lot of the health benefits?
There are actually 34 grapes presented here. Should I go by the photo or the text? It's very important for my health that I get an answer on this one.
Interesting way to visualize volumes. Pretty much reflects what I eat. People who feel meat is central may be skeptical, but I really enjoy having a variety of fruits and veggies daily and certainly don't view it as a hardship. For me, fruits and veggies give a meal its taste and texture, the health benefits are a pleasant bonus.
I like to forsake the UK 80g per portion of Fruit and veg and aim for 100g meaning 500g means you get the lot. I often make 5 a day Sweetcorn Salad. Sweetcorn Green Giant 3x plus 1x avocado x1 plus 2 inches cucumber x1 cook up sweetcorn in chilli garlic butter mixture keep sweetcorn juices as they add flavour. Smother with a good mayonaise I use Hellmans, and et voila!! Jolly tasty too!!
LOL, I'm in the same boat, melpy!
No wonder I'm overweight...I'm eating too many fruits and veggies!
Phew, it's gonna be rough to eat that much in one day ;)
Interesting, I thought 5-7 servings a day was a lot more than this.