Is 3-4 cups of leafy greens enough veggies for the day?

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With maybe an additional 1/2 cup of green beans on some days?

Not big on veggies.

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  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    are we talking just iceberg lettuce? Or are there also some kale, collards, spinach, bok choy, cabbage,etc. in that mix, too?
  • XtyAnn17
    XtyAnn17 Posts: 632 Member
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    Romaine/spinach mix
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    3.5 oz of leafy greens (not lettuce) is a serving of vegetable...roughly 2 cups. So 3-4 cups would be 1.5 - 2 servings of vegetables in a day. Personally, I'm a get your veggies guy and get about 4-5 servings of veg per day...and I drink 2 of those servings...something you may want to consider...the real deal is the best option, but I usually can't get that many plated vegetables when I'm on the go all day.

    Greens are great...kale, spinach, chard, etc...they're very nutritionally dense; lettuce is pretty much a waste of time...very little nutritional value, mostly water...Romaine is better than iceberg though.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    How many ounces is 3-4 cups. If those are the only vegies you're eating, you need about 10 ounces of them to equal your vegetables for the day.

    Doing this for a couple months probably isn't too bad for you. But if you plan on making this a long-term habit, you'll probably want to add some vitamin supplements to your daily regimen. In particular vitamin Bs, D, E and iron, if you aren't getting those from other sources.
  • investit
    investit Posts: 24 Member
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    Have you ever read the nutritional information on the back of Romaine lettuce?
    My son told me as I was fixing him a salad that his biology teacher said that lettuce had no real nutritional value, some are better than others like romaine but all and all they are of no real value.
    I have heard this before as well so I looked on the package and on line just to see
    Here is some of what I found - *By the way after reading this romaine was added to my leafy green smoothie rotation

    1 – Protein. Believe it or not, romaine lettuce is 17% protein with 7.7 grams per head. It is also a complete protein! That means that it has all 8 essential amino acids, 9% RDA of some and up to 26% RDA of others.

    2 – Calcium. One head of romaine has 206mg of calcium (about 21% RDA). Blend it with calcium rich fruits like papaya and oranges and you’ll get more calcium than a glass of milk!

    3 – Omega-3s. One head of romaine lettuce contains 44% RDA of Omega-3 essential fats. Forget the tainted fish oils, reach for some leafy greens instead!

    4 – More Vitamin C Than An Orange. One head of romaine contains 167% RDA of vitamin C while an average sized orange contains only 92%.

    5 – Iron. One head of romaine contains 6mg of iron, which ads a significant source of iron to the diets of vegetarians and vegans.

    6 – Romaine Lettuce is Rich in B-vitamins: Thiamine (B1) – 38% RDA, Riboflavin (B2) – 32% RDA, Niacin (B3) – 12% RDA, Pantothenic Acid (B5) – 18%, Pyridoxine (B6) – 36 %, Folate (B9) – 213%!

    7 – Water. One head of romaine provides 16% of your daily water needs with about 20 ounces of water per head!

    8 – Rich Source of vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and K. As with most leafy greens, romaine is super rich in beta-carotene with 1817% RDA per head and has 535% RDA of vitamin K.

    9 – Low Levels of Oxalic Acid. If you have problems with calcium oxalate kidney stones, romaine lettuce might be a good choice for leafy greens since it is very low in this anti-nutrient.

    10 – Mineral-Rich. Don’t let the lighter color of romaine lettuce fool you. This not-so-dark leafy green is rich in minerals. One head contains copper (33% RDA), magnesium (22% RDA), manganese (42% RDA), phosphorus (27% RDA), potassium (33%), selenium (5% RDA) and zinc (13% RDA).
  • totem12
    totem12 Posts: 194 Member
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    Personally I like to eat vegetables (and fruits) of some different colours - mostly green is good, but throwing in some carrots, cauliflower, peppers and tomatoes means a good range of nutrients!

    Also, if you like fruit smoothies, throwing in spinach is a great way to add some more green leaves without even tasting it.