Counting vegetable servings... Hummus?

Ashleysh22

So how many of servings of vegetables is three tablespoons of hummus?

I have finally gotten my exercise back under control and now I am on to nutrition. Counting servings of vegetables is one of my two main nutrition goals this month ( that and getting 50 grams of protein a day as I try to build muscle for the first time in my life)...

But what about hummus? I know it's a vegetable. But generally speaking I think 1 serving is half a cup and I can't eat half a cup of hummus at one sitting.

Does three tablespoons count as even half a serving? I'd love to hear people's thoughts!

_GlaDOS_

I would say none. I generally don't count beans as vegetables, but since they are a legume, I suppose they could be counted as a vegetable. Not really how sure though. I wouldn't even say 1 serving.

Pebble321

Personally I wouldn't count hummus as a veggie - but if you are dipping carrot and celery sticks into it, they would count

dcmat

You should really be asking how much oil....

MichelleRenee13

I would say it is a carb based on the main ingredient being chick peas.

sarahbetherck

4 tbsp is 1/4 cup so there's your half serving. I don't know if it counts as veg or not though...I wouldn't think so.
On another note, shoot for more than 50g of protein. It will do you much better, especially if you're strength training :-)
Good luck!

spinqueen72

So how many of servings of vegetables is three tablespoons of hummus?

I have finally gotten my exercise back under control and now I am on to nutrition. Counting servings of vegetables is one of my two main nutrition goals this month ( that and getting 50 grams of protein a day as I try to build muscle for the first time in my life)...

But what about hummus? I know it's a vegetable. But generally speaking I think 1 serving is half a cup and I can't eat half a cup of hummus at one sitting.

Does three tablespoons count as even half a serving? I'd love to hear people's thoughts!

2 tbsp of hummus is an actual serving.

Ashleysh22

well I know chickpeas (as do other legumes: kidney beans, lentils etc), in general, DO count as a vegetable, but hummus has other ingredients.

This website for instance says that three tablespoons of chickpeas would count as a serving - http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Portionsizes.aspx

but I don't know reliable that source is. and besides. 3 tbsps of hummus is not the same as 3 tbsps of chickpeas.

thanks for all the input guys!

I don't want to take any short cuts. I was just thinking maybe someone had researched this thoroughly before

Ashleysh22

4 tbsp is 1/4 cup so there's your half serving. I don't know if it counts as veg or not though...I wouldn't think so.
On another note, shoot for more than 50g of protein. It will do you much better, especially if you're strength training :-)
Good luck!

thanks for your help! as far as the protein goes, I spent a lot of time talking to one my friends with a masters in public health and a degree in exercise physiology about my height, weight, and exercises and she says about 55 grams of protein should be great for me. I usually find myself on the low side though so for the month of March I will be quite happy if I reach 50 grams everyday. and by "month of march" i mean starting today since that is when I started really focusing on this!

EroseT23

Hummus is mostly chickpeas, mixed with tahini (traditionally, which is a paste made from sesame seeds), lemon juice, garlic, and really not much else for the basic recipe. No extra vegetables go in, that I know.

Even though beans and other legumes are indeed a plant food, I've never counted them as vegetables. To me, that'd be free license to count peanut butter as a vegetable... and that would just get out of hand very quickly.

I read somewhere once (don't remember where, please don't cite me!) that a serving of vegetables was 75 grams. So if you have a food scale, that can be very helpful. I aim to get a minimum of 250 grams of non-starchy veggies everyday. If I make a recipe, like a soup or casserole, I weigh out the entire amount of veggies I put in and divide that by the number of servings to get how many grams of vegetables there are per serving.

I applaud your nutrition goals! Keep at it, and do lots of research. :happy: Good luck!

Ashleysh22

I DO own a food scale. lol - I didn't even THINK of that. thanks!

LunaPhaedra

I consider hummus as a 'meat and alternatives' kind of food (well, alternatives at least, cuz it' like peanut butter since it's mostly made of chickpeas and tahini [sesame seed paste]) So i think about 2 tablespoons is an appropriate serving size (though i listed my homemade recipe at 4 xD probably not the smartest idea...)

actually, would you like the recipe? my aunt picked it up when she went to Israel 30ish years ago. it's 10000000000x better than any store-bought stuff (seriously, i have to add herbs/spices to the store-bought stuff just to tolerate it! lol)