How much vegetables do you take? A friend who is a vegetarian told me that I am
By carpediem17
@carpediem17 (1315)
Singapore
August 20, 2010 9:53am CST
not taking enough vegetables. Although I am not a great fan of vegetables, I am quite mindful of having a balanced diet. Some of my favoured vegetables are eggplant, french and long beans, carrots and peas, cauliflower, asparagus and lettuce, red and green bell pepper, mushroom, onion and garlic and cucumbers.
Is eating leafy greens counted as eating vegetables and not those mentioned earlier. And how much is considered eating enough vegetables.
I need some advice here.
2 people like this
12 responses
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
20 Aug 10
Leafy greens like romaine lettuce are some of the best vegetables. We should eat one full head of lettuce a day. It can be eaten with any fruit we like. I have done a lot of research into this and it seems to be the most sensible.
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@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
21 Aug 10
Another great vegetable is celery. Very neutral, can be eaten with any food. But avoid eating the leaves. Check this one out too?
@bluemoonpavilion (4658)
• Singapore
23 Aug 10
I like lettuce a lot on salads! It's so crunchy and juicy.
However, celery in porridge is probably the only way I can eat it, and you are right, we shouldn't eat the leaves.
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@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
21 Aug 10
whoa 1hopefulman, thanks for enlightening me on this. I just take lettuce with my bread actually. Not so sure about romaine lettuce. Will check it out. Thanks again.
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@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
21 Aug 10
hi carpediem my diabetes educator nurse dietician told us five to seven servings of veggies a day, and salads of greenleafy veggies really do count. all so for the others you mention that you like a serving is usually considered just half a cup a nd vegetable soups also count in the serving.So I imagine if you have some veggies and a salad and a bowl of vegetable soup you will get your five servings in easily.![](/Content/images/emotes/thumbup.gif)
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@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
21 Aug 10
whoa that's a whole load of vegetables for me as I can see it. Making all efforts to eat more leafy vegetables though. Thanks Hatley for your sharing.
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@killersss (638)
• India
20 Aug 10
being a vegetarian i only eat vegetables and vegetarian stuff. apart from vegetables i also eat soya related products like soya chunks, soya milk, soya butter and all. i think intake of soya products are a great way of getting high protein diet. vegetables that i eat include beans, carrots, lady finger, onion, garlic, cucumber, mushrooms everything that is green and vegetarian. you are taking enough vegetables but i think if you are trying to make body and health then you should consider the intake of soya related products that will really help you in making body.
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@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
21 Aug 10
thanks for your advice. I do love my soya beans, bean curds and tofu. Shall try to have more ideas and variety of soya-related products to my meals.
@billybibps (99)
• India
21 Aug 10
I don't take in too much vegetables too. I jus take very little amount of the veggies on the table and i know they are not enough but i don't like the taste of most of them :(
Mushroom is not a vegetable, they are composed of fungus so they cannot be added to the veggies list ha ha :D
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
24 Aug 10
hi billybibps, oops I guess we need to try to consume veggies despite the taste, for health sake. Perhaps cauliflower or broccoli with some nice seasoning might help.
@akopoaysi (739)
• Philippines
20 Aug 10
lately, me and my husband are eating vegetable salad with fat free dressing. we love it. we eat it before we have our lunch and we only eat salad and wheat bread for dinner. we both need to lose weight because since we got married we go on and off dieting. so hope this way we could eat many but make our stomach full with healthy food. :D
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@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
21 Aug 10
hi akopaoysi, yup eating without fat free dressing is truly important cos it might spoil the dieting programme. I think olive oil is good enough as a dressing, no? Glad that you have your husband to accompany you on this dieting programme.
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
24 Aug 10
whoa that's abit too much, urban. I'm not a true blue vegetarian. Thanks for sharing anyway.
@durgabala (1360)
• India
21 Aug 10
Many are converting to vegetarian diet for good health and weight loss. In India we get so many varieties of vegetables that for many I do not know the English names. We get varieties of lettuce and spinach here. have you ever tried dish made of drum stick tree leaves? It is the most healthy leave variety of vegetable. it is medicinal and very good to control diabetes. its high in Iron content.
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
24 Aug 10
hi durgabala, definitely have not heard of or tried drum stick tree leaves. Maybe need to see the real thing though. Thanks for sharing.
@bluemoonpavilion (4658)
• Singapore
20 Aug 10
I have been observing you and you are definitely not taking enough vegetables!!!
To determine how much veggies you should take a day, hold up your fist, both hands, that's about the right amount (cooked veggies) for one meal. (That was my own estimate). Here's more advice from dietitian Tony Hirving RD,
“Vegetables provide a selection of important vitamins and minerals along with other compounds, called phytochemicals that help to keep us healthy,...reduce the risk of deaths cancer by up to 20% – fruit and vegetables can also reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke – current guide lines suggest adults should eat at least 5 portions (400g) of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day."
So, remember to eat your veggies. You can start tomorrow! ![](/Content/images/emotes/rasp.gif)
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@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
20 Aug 10
yaya observer bmp, thanks for your advice. I think I take more vegetables during dinner than lunch. During dinner, I normally have soup with a host of vegetables inside including potato. May not necessarily be a fistful but quite a bit in my opinion.
@deve_annrn (1856)
• Philippines
21 Aug 10
Hi.. I am not a vegetarian but I am not picky with the food I ate.., I ate vegetables too but I don't think I have an adequate intake for me to claim that I am already healthy.., Most of the vegetables you mentioned are my favorites to.., yes.., i believe the green leafy ones are also considered vegetables.., and it is a good source of fiber.., I think as long as you eat vegetable everyday.., that's healthy enough.., you don't have to eat only vegetables to be healthy.., remember.., we need it to be balanced..carbohydrates.., protein (usually form meat) and vegetables with all the vitamins and minerals..=)
@deve_annrn (1856)
• Philippines
21 Aug 10
Hi.. I am not a vegetarian but I am not picky with the food I ate.., I ate vegetables too but I don't think I have an adequate intake for me to claim that I am already healthy.., Most of the vegetables you mentioned are my favorites to.., yes.., i believe the green leafy ones are also considered vegetables.., and it is a good source of fiber.., I think as long as you eat vegetable everyday.., that's healthy enough.., you don't have to eat only vegetables to be healthy.., remember.., we need it to be balanced..carbohydrates.., protein (usually form meat) and vegetables with all the vitamins and minerals..=)
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
24 Aug 10
well said deve. I am continually ensuring that I eat my greens. I think it feels good after a while.
@chinoxads (255)
• United States
21 Aug 10
Hello,
Everyday i eat at least one type of vegetables, sometimes i eat cauliflower, different types of spinach (Chinese spinachs), brocoli, lettuce, mushroom and it combine with some meat.
@carpediem17 (1315)
• Singapore
24 Aug 10
hi chinoxads, really important to have a balance diet cos we may suffer from the lack of it when we are older.
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