Do some fruits "count" as vegetables when it comes to diet?

Lounmoun

tshook12397 wrote: »

So this whole time I was thinking that squash, bell peppers, and green beans all fall under the "vegetable" category. Unsurprisingly I was wrong! But I was wondering if this is still true for our diets? To my understanding it's not good for you to eat more than two servings of fruit per day. I realized I eat a ton though since what I thought were veggies actually aren't. But do greens like green beans and peas still have the same benefits as vegetables? I'm just all turned around now about what a balanced diet looks like.

If by diet you mean for weight loss then what matters is calories not whether it is a fruit or vegetable.

For nutrition just eat as much fruit and vegetables as you can manage and don't worry about their botanical classification. What I read suggested is eating 4 servings of fruits and 4-5 servings of vegetables a day not 2 servings. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Suggested-Servings-from-Each-Food-Group_UCM_318186_Article.jsp#mainContent

tshook12397

Wow I didn't expect to get so many responses! A few of you answered my question, I now know that while they are still fruit, they can fall under the vegetable category when it comes to nutritional value. I wasn't asking for weight-loss but instead asking for nutrition purposes (I'm trying to eat better and wrap my head around the idea of a healthy diet, calories are unimportant since I could eat nothing but bread all day, stay under calories, and still feel like crap) I heard you should only eat 2 servings of fruit a day because they can be high in sugar. Thanks for the responses, I appreciate it! (: I will go back to eating the "vegetables" I like!

tshook12397

Carlos_421 wrote: »

Your body doesn't care about the botanical classifications of a food. It only cares about what is in the food you eat.

Recommendations to eat a certain number of fruits and vegetables, etc. may be somewhat helpful for those who don't understand nutrition to help them get some variety of nutrients but it's not at all scientific.

If you you really want to ensure that you're getting the nutrition you need, track your food intake and make sure you get enough protein, fat (mostly unsaturated), fiber, vitamins and minerals. As long as you get enough of those things, you're fine and your body doesn't care whether it comes from fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, supplements or whatever.

And of course the part that matters for weight loss is eating fewer calories than you burn.

Thank you! I just wanted to know for nutritional purposes! (:

tshook12397

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. Just don't eat too many calories - no matter what those calories are made of and you'll lose weight.

I'm not trying to lose weight at the moment. Just trying to eat healthy to feel better and help with my acid reflex but I figured I might as well learn a bit about what/how much I should be eating (:

tshook12397

MakePeasNotWar wrote: »

Most of the fruits we think of as vegetables are in the veggie category because they have nutrition profiles closer to the vegetable group than the fruit group. The fact that they are botanically fruits isn't that important in terms of nutrition.

You are right to classify those foods as vegetables for diet purposes.

Thank you so much! This answered my question (: That's what I was thinking but just wanted to be sure!

sarahthes

smotheredincheese wrote: »

I knew that peppers were technically in the fruit family but green beans? That's a new one on me.
There's a quote I like: "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."

"Charisma is being able to sell a tomato-based fruit salad."

"...guys, I found the bard!"

lemurcat12

sarahthes wrote: »

smotheredincheese wrote: »

I knew that peppers were technically in the fruit family but green beans? That's a new one on me.
There's a quote I like: "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."

"Charisma is being able to sell a tomato-based fruit salad."

"...guys, I found the bard!"

Actually, a tomato and watermelon salad with feta is AMAZING and perhaps the only way I like watermelon.

belimawr

lemurcat12 wrote: »

sarahthes wrote: »

smotheredincheese wrote: »

I knew that peppers were technically in the fruit family but green beans? That's a new one on me.
There's a quote I like: "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."

"Charisma is being able to sell a tomato-based fruit salad."

"...guys, I found the bard!"

Actually, a tomato and watermelon salad with feta is AMAZING and perhaps the only way I like watermelon.

I once tried a recipe similar, also had onion in it as well as the above, IIRC. It was, surprisingly, better than i thought. If i can find it again I'll post it.

WinoGelato

TheChesireCat wrote: »

Fruit has more (natural) sugars therefore it is better to get your nutrition from vegetables than fruit. Fruit are very bad for your teeth.

Why is fruit bad for your teeth?

Mentali

sarahthes wrote: »

smotheredincheese wrote: »

I knew that peppers were technically in the fruit family but green beans? That's a new one on me.
There's a quote I like: "Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."

"Charisma is being able to sell a tomato-based fruit salad."

"...guys, I found the bard!"

A tomato-based fruit salad? Do you mean salsa?