Vegetable Challenge Details

Here is a great veggie calculator. See veggie calculator. 


What is a serving of vegetables?

A serving of vegetable is 1/2 a cup except for leafy vegetables where a serving is 1 cup; don’t include potato or ketchup products as well as all types of juices. 



Highly Recommended Vegetables

Asparagus

Escarole

Avocado (actually a fruit)

Fennel

Beet greens

Green and red cabbage

Bok Choy

Kale

Broccoli

Kohlrabi

Brussels sprouts

Lettuce: romaine, red leaf, green leaf

Cauliflower

Mustard greens

Celery

Onions

Chicory

Parsley

Chinese cabbage

Peppers: red, green, yellow and hot

Chives

Tomatoes

Collard greens

Turnips

Cucumbers

Spinach

Dandelion greens

Zucchini

Green and Yellow Beans

Endive

 


Use sparingly due to high carbohydrate levels

Beets

Jicama

Carrots

Winter Squashes

Eggplant

 



Vegetables to Avoid

Potatoes

Count as a whole grain or carbohydrate



 

You can have low calorie fruits in place of a couple servings of veggies. 


Some Great Low Calorie Fruits-no syrup added canned fruits

Starfruit 1/2 cup 16 calories

Apricot 1/2 cup 17 calories

Watermelon 1/2 cup 23 calories

Strawberries 1/2 cup 26 calories

Apple 1/2 cup 26 calories

Papaya 1/2 cup 27 calories

Cantaloup 1/2 cup 27 calories

Plums 1/2 cup 30 calories

Honeydew melon 1/2 cup 30 calories

Blackberries 1/2 cup 31 calories

Raspberries 1/2 cup 32 calories

Peach 1/2 cup 33 calories

Pineapple 1/2 cup 37 calories


I like this Fruit guideline

Eat 3 – 5 servings of fruit per day.

This depends on the total number of calories you consume in a day.

  1. 1If you consume 1600 – 1800 calories, eat 3 servings of fruit per day.

  2. 2If you consume 2000 – 2600 calories, eat 4 servings of fruit per day.

  3. 3If you consume 2800 calories, eat 5 servings of fruit per day.


1 serving of fruit is equal to:

  1. 1½ cup of fresh, frozen or canned fruit (no sugar added)

  2. 21/4 cup of dried fruit -dried fruits are very high in calories so if you are trying to lose weight have fresh instead.


Eat fruit closest to its natural form

For example:

  1. 1Whole fresh fruit

  2. 2Frozen fruit that is unsweetened

Fruit closest to it natural form is naturally higher in nutrients (including fiber) and lower in added sugar.


For a great list of vegetables go to the myplate.gov or click logo below.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/vegetables-counts.html








Great info at Harvard as well.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/