About Those Veggie Exchanges

[sneezles]

I still think the new guidelines (1/2 cup raw or cooked of non-leafy and 1 cup of leafy) is just marketing and a way to "fool" most into thinking they're eating more veggies. As I was fixing my lunch today I read the label on the back of the Organic Baby Spinach...it contains 30z/approx 3 cups and says it's one serving but that would be 3 according to the guidelines but when I sautéed it I ended up with just over 1/2 cup.

So how many veggies did I eat? Was it 1 using the Nutrition label, was it 3 because I started with 3 cups of raw leafy veggie or was it 1 because I ended up with just over 1/2 cup cooked? And who decides which one is right?

[leightx]

I've always wondered the same thing! We had spinach last night - I cooked literally half of a giant bag from Costco (it was probably 12 cups raw), and it cooked down to maybe 2 cups tops - barely enough for the 4 of us. I just don't think raw greens have as much nutrition, ounce for ounce, as other veggies. For my purposes, I go with the cooked volume.

[sneezles]

It use to be that veggies like spinach and lettuces were considered free food because they contain less than 20 calories or 5 grams of carbs and you could eat 3 servings per day and not count them (according to the Amer Diabetic Assoc). A veggie exchange supposedly has about 5 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams of protein (25 calories) and vegetables higher in carbohydrate are counted as 1 starch exchange (corn, green peas, jicama).

[funniegrrl]

I'm on Jenny Craig, which uses essentially the ADA exchange guidelines. (This is also the same system Weight Watchers used to use before they went to "points.")

A vegetable exchange is basically 1 cup of any raw non-starchy vegetable, or 1/2 cup cooked. You don't really count lettuce, although spinach, cabbage, and other "leafy greens" count because they do tend to have higher nutritional values than lettuce. For these, I would say a cup of raw would be fairly tightly packed. If you're cooking it and want to measure, I would just measure after cooking.

The problem with packaging labels is that the packager/manufacturer can define a "serving" however they want. Sometimes a serving size is unusually large to encourage people to eat more of it, and thus buy more of it. Sometimes it's smaller than you would normally think because they want to manage your impression of certain components, like sodium, fat, calories, etc. A food that has "0 calories" doesn't literally have to have 0 calories ... as long as a "serving" has 5 calories or less, you can say it has no calories. So, for some of the margarine and non-stick sprays, whose main ingredient is oil, the definition of a serving is something like 1/7th second spray. That's because that amount is less than 5 calories and they can therefore say it has no calories.

[wallycat]

I don't count :o
Yes, according to the "standard" 1 cup leafy and 1/2 cup cooked...so your COOKED spinach would count as 1/2 cup.

I think the point is to use it as a guide-line.
Just as I never counted calories, I try not to get into the habit of counting this...though on a bad day, when I feel I haven't had anything of much nutritional value, I will count what i had to make me feel better :D

I try to include a fruit or veggie at every meal and if I am snacking, to include something there as well...this gives me AT LEAST 5/day. Some days more if I am snacking a lot or if I serve 2 veggies at dinner (like sweet potato for the starch portion which I count as a veggie).

The crux of the issue is to eat less of the non-nutritive calories and more of good ones
;)

[CompassRose]

And I suppose whether one likes spinach or not. If one hates it, then one should be able to count it for the higher number to compensate for having to eat it. ;)

[sneezles]

Originally posted by CompassRose
And I suppose whether one likes spinach or not. If one hates it, then one should be able to count it for the higher number to compensate for having to eat it. ;)

LOL!


Originally posted by funniegrrl
The problem with packaging labels is that the packager/manufacturer can define a "serving" however they want.

I agree with that but this plasctic box certainly had at least 3 well-packed cups of spinach...

Ana,
I generally don't count either since I know that I get at least 7/day of veggies. I have not, however, worked fruits back into my diet...