What
is a serving?
For fruits and
vegetables, a serving size
is pretty standard: a half-cup
of cutup whatever. The whatever
could be cooked or raw broccoli,
peaches, spinach, cantaloupe,
and so on.
• If
you are not cutting up your
piece of fruit, one medium
piece is a serving. When
talking lettuce, figure
a cup of raw leaves per
serving.
• A serving of
cooked dried beans (pinto,
chick peas, etc.) is the
1/2-cup standard. For dried
fruit, drop down to 1/4-cup
for a serving.
• A serving of
100% fruit or vegetable
juice is 6 ounces (3/4-cup).
How
much is a half-a-cup? About
as much as you could hold
in one (cupped) hand.
Get the full
scoop on servings at the Servings
page.
What's
a fruit?
Technically speaking,
a fruits consists of the fleshy
pulp that surrounds the seed
of a plant. That would make
a zucchini a fruit and a tomato
a fruit, just like an apple
or a watermelon. (A bit of
trivia: tomatoes and watermelons
belong to the same classification
of fruit; they are both true
berries!)
Still, for eating
purposes fruit usually refers
to the sweeter members of
that botanical grouping. This
includes tree fruits such
as apples, peaches, cherries
and oranges; fruits that grow
on vines like cantaloupes
and watermelons; plus those
that grow on bushes (blueberries)
and low, creeping plants (strawberries).
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What's
a vegetable?
A lot of foods
that we call vegetables are
technically really fruits
(as explained in What's a
fruit?). Examples are zucchini,
tomato, and butternut (and
other winter) squash.
We usually prepare these as
"savories" rather
than "sweets".
Other vegetables
truly are the plant's "vegetation".
Lettuce,
cabbage and spinach
fit in this category.
Some of the vegetables we
eat are flower buds (broccoli,
artichoke), and some
are a plant's seed pod, complete
with seed (green
beans). In our 5 A
Day Challenge, dried
beans also count as
a vegetable (see sidebar at
right.)
We classify some
roots (carrots,
radishes) and other
things that grow below the
ground's surface (potatoes)
as vegetables, too.
Are
potatoes a vegetable?
Yep, potatoes
are a vegetable… but,
potato chips are a
salty
snack food. And Frenchfries
do not
count as vegetable servings
when scoring the 5 A Day Challenge.
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Can
nuts be scored as a vegetable?
When you check
the Food
Guide Pyramid, you find
that nuts are on the protein-rich
rung, not with the fruits
and vegetables. And while
the 5 A Day Challenge accepts
another member of the protein
groups (dried
beans) into the veggie
crowd, the line between nuts
and vegetables is a lot sharper.
A lot of nutritionists
are touting the health benefits
of nuts, and say they can
be part of a healthy diet.
(Click
here for info from the
American Dietetic Association.)
Still, the focus of the 5
A Day Challenge is to become
more familiar with the fruit
and vegetable groups of the
pyramid.
So, definitely
include nuts as a flavorful
garnish on your stir-fry,
spinach, or fruit salad, but
leave them out when you're
scoring servings.
If you are unsure
about some other foods, you
may be able to answer them
by looking at the discussion
about nuts.
What
about processed beans, like
tofu?
Although the
why and how of soybeans is
still not settled, there is
little doubt that this staple
food of so many cultures can
contribute to a healthy diet.
(Click
here for info about soy
from the American Dietetic
Association.)
Tofu does not
count as a vegetable when
scoring for 5 A Day. It is
in the protein category of
the food pyramid. Tofu is
made from soy milk and unlike
fruits, vegetables, and whole
dried beans, it is low in
fiber. This is an important
distinction between tofu and
fruits and vegetables since
dietary fiber is one of the
most celebrated nutritional
benefits gained from eating
fruits and vegetables.
Click
here for general info
about tofu. Click
here for nutrition info.
Source: US Soyfoods Directory
web site.
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What
about mashed beans, like hummus?
In the 1970's
a lot of people were introduced
to hummus as a middle eastern
"health food". It
is made from mashed chick
peas, often mixed with garlic,
tahini (sesame paste), and
/ or olive oil. Two favorite
ways of eating hummus are
as a spread on bread, or as
a dip for raw veggies.
Hummus does not
count as a vegetable when
scoring for 5 A Day. However,
like nuts, hummus is both
a delicious way to add variety
to your 5 a day, and a way
to contribute to your healthy
diet.
I make
chili with kidney beans and
vegetables (like tomatoes,
bell peppers, and zucchini).
Can I score the veggies as
well as the chili beans?
Absolutely! If
your cup of chili is half
beans and half veggies, you've
got 2 servings. (Click
here for more scoring
info, or here
for info about servings.)
Is cabbage
a "Leafy vegetable"
or a "regular vegetable"?
We classify
cabbage as a regular vegetable.
It's in the cruciferous vegetable
family that includes Brussels
sprouts, broccoli, bok choy,
cauliflower, collard, mustard,
turnip greens, kale, kohlrabi,
rutabaga and turnip root.
Then what about
the "greens" mentioned
in the previous paragraph
(collard, mustard, turnip,
kale)?
We are still
calling these foods "vegetable".
The "leafy vegetable"
group really only includes
salad greens — foods
that "take up more room",
and therefore require a full
cup to equal a serving.
