What is a Serving of Vegetables? 

For someone like me who was not a fan of veggies, the recommended 5 servings of veggies per day seemed like a lot.  I am being 100% honest here when I say that green smoothies and Shakeology are solely responsible for my increased veggie interest.  I discovered green smoothies and thought I would give them a try.  They were much tastier than I anticipated.  I started drinking them daily.  Then, I got pregnant with baby number two and could barely eat anything for 14 weeks.  During that time, greens were the last thing I wanted, so I finally gave in and tried Shakeology.  I figured disguising the veggies in more of a shake taste would give me a chance to give this baby some nutrients.  Plus, Shakeology has a ton of superfoods that I believe really helped me get my energy back.  Shakeology has since killed my cravings and made it so much easier to eat clean that I ever thought possible.  On the occasional days I don't get Shakeology in, I can tell the next day, as my cravings start creeping in.  Now that I am on the track to eating better, I have started combining greens and Shakeology for an unbeatable drink on the healthy scale.

 During this quest to eat better, I started thinking about what an actual serving of vegetables is and if I would ever be able to meet the recommendations.  I still have to get creative and plan to do some posts on recipes with "hidden" veggies to help my two-year-old get more in her system, because we all know she isn't going to be drinking something green.... yet!  I wanted to share some quick tips on a what a serving of veggies is to start us all on the right track to health.

Only one in four Americans eats the recommended daily servings of vegetables and fruits, which means we’re missing out on the nutrients that produce delivers, especially potassium and fiber. How many servings should you be eating?  Adults should aim for 2½ cups of vegetables.
(See the full article here)



2 1/2 cups seems easy, but it depends on if the veggies are cooked or raw.  So, what counts as a serving?  (Comes from the Food Pyramid Guidelines)

 Vegetable Group

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
• 1/2 cup of other vegetables cooked or raw
• 3/4 cup of vegetable juice

Fruit Group

• 1 medium apple, banana, orange, pear
• 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
• 3/4 cup of fruit juice (I usually only use juice in Shakeology or green smoothies, as otherwise, it doesn't do much for satiating your hunger.  You are better off to eat whole fruit so you get the filling fiber as well.)

Stay tuned for my next post on painless tips for getting more veggies in each day.