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Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office.

FCS 1055

Vegetables: Dark-Green Leafy, Deep Yellow, Dry and Peas (), Starchy and Other Vegetables1 Glenda L. Warren2 • Deep yellow vegetables provide: A. Eat 3 to 5 servings of vegetables each day. Examples: Carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, Include all types of vegetables regularly. winter squash.

What counts as one serving?

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables (such as lettuce or ) • ½ cup of chopped raw vegetables • ½ cup of cooked vegetables • ¾ cup of

Eat a variety of vegetables • Dry Beans and Peas (legumes) provide: It is important to eat many different vegetables. Thiamin, folic acid, iron, magnesium, All vegetables provide , some provide , , potassium, , starch, starch and protein, and they are also sources of fiber. Beans and peas can be used as meat many and minerals. alternatives since they are a source of protein. Examples: Black beans, black-eyed peas, • Dark-green vegetables provide: Vitamins A chickpeas (garbanzos), kidney beans, lentils, and C, riboflavin, folic acid, iron, , lima beans (mature), mung beans, navy beans, magnesium, potassium. Examples: Beet pinto beans, split peas. greens, , greens, endive, • Starchy vegetables provide: Starch and escarole, , mustard greens, romaine varying amounts of certain vitamins and lettuce, spinach, greens, watercress. minerals, such as niacin, , zinc, and

1. This document is FCS 1055, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: January 2001. First published: September 1997. Reviewed: January 2001. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu 2. Glenda L. Warren, M.S., R.D., CFCS, Associate Professor, Extension Nutritionist—EFNEP, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. For information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension Service office. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences / University of Florida / Christine Taylor Waddill, Dean Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office.

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potassium. Examples: Corn, green peas, • Try juice on salads or use limited hominy, lima beans, potatoes, . amounts of oil-based dressings. • Other vegetables provide: Varying amounts of vitamins and minerals such as , and potassium. Examples: Alfalfa Vegetables provide a variety of vitamins and sprouts, , sprouts, beets, minerals essential for health. Brussel sprouts, , cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, green peppers, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions (mature and green), Some Good Sources of Folate radishes, summer squash, tomatoes, , vegetable , zucchini. • Dry beans (like red beans, navy beans, and soybeans), lentils, chickpeas, cow peas, and Keeping Vegetables “Healthy” peanuts. Almost all vegetables are low in ; vegetables do • Many vegetables, especially leafy greens not have cholesterol. Here’s how to keep them (spinach, cabbage, brussels sprouts, romaine, that way. looseleaf lettuce), peas, okra, sweet corn, beets, and broccoli. Go easy on the fat added to vegetables at the • Fruits such as blackberries, boysenberries, table or during cooking. Added spreads or kiwi fruit, oranges, plantains, strawberries, toppings, such as butter, mayonnaise, and salad , and juice. dressing count as fat. Also toppings for salads such as cheese, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits Some Good Sources of add to the fat content. • Dark-green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, • Serve vegetables plain. If you add butter, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens), margarine, vegetable oil or fatty meat broccoli, carrots, pumpkin and calabasa, red drippings, use only very small amounts. It is pepper, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. best to avoid fatty meat drippings and fatty • Fruits like mango, papaya, cantaloupe. meat. • Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in • Season vegetables with herbs and spices fat and provide many essential nutrients and rather than with sauces, butter, margarine, or other food components important for health. fatty meat drippings. These foods are excellent sources of vitamin • When cooking vegetables, if you add C, vitamin B6, carotenoids, including those seasoned meats, choose lean meats and use which form vitamin A and folate. only small amounts. • The antioxidant nutrients found in plant foods • Steam, boil, broil, or bake vegetables; or for a (e.g., vitamin C, carotenoids, , and change, stirfry in a very small amount of certain minerals) are presently of great interest vegetable oil. to scientists and the public because of their • Avoid vegetables that are fried, because they potentially beneficial role in reducing the risk are high in fat. for cancer and certain other chronic diseases. Scientists are also trying to determine if other • Use nonfat or lowfat salad dressings, or use substances in plant foods protect against only small amounts of regular dressings. cancer.

January 2001 Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office.

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try summer squash, broccoli, cabbage, or asparagus. Use lower sodium soy sauce, Make it a habit . . . lemon juice, or herbs to add flavor. eat a variety of vegetables every day! • Boiled (simmered is best): Vegetables taste great when you cook them the right way. Use only a little water, cook for a short time, cook Prepare and Enjoy Vegetables - Raw at a low temperature and use little or no fat or salt. • Raw (with or without dips): Many vegetables • Broiled: Vegetables like onions, zucchini, and taste good raw. Chill and eat them plain or tomatoes can be broiled. It is a quick way of try a lowfat dip with raw , cooking foods under direct heat without broccoli, carrot, green pepper, turnip, and added fat. Place vegetables in broiling pan or rutabaga sticks or pieces. You can use green rack set in a shallow pan and broil until beans, zucchini, summer squash and many tender. other raw veggies too. • Baked: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter • Salads: Use lots of dark green leafy squashes, and onions can be baked. Simply vegetables in your salads. Try spinach, wash, prick skins, and place vegetables in a watercress, romaine, or other dark greens. baking sheet in oven. Also, try raw green pepper strips or turnip slices or cold cooked peas, corn, chickpeas, or beets. Increase variety by serving greens tossed with fruit slices such as oranges, apples Remember these tips and choose 3-5 servings of or pears. Use lowfat salad dressing instead of various vegetables and vegetable juices every oily salad dressings and mayonnaise because day: they may add more and calories than you need. • Choose dark-green leafy and deep-yellow vegetables often. Prepare and Enjoy Vegetables - Cooked • Eat dry beans, peas, and lentils often. • Eat starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and • Steamed: Try steaming vegetables. Use a corn. steamer basket that fits into a saucepan. Put vegetables in the basket with water in the • Prepare and serve vegetables with little or no bottom of the pan, cover the pan with a tight fats. fitting lid, and steam the vegetables until tender but still crisp and brightly colored. Buying Tips for Vegetables Water should not touch the steamer basket. You can also steam vegetables in the microwave oven. • Watch for good buys on fresh vegetables in season. • Stirfried: Try stirfrying. To stirfry vegetables, lightly coat the bottom of nonstick • Buy plain canned or plain frozen vegetables frypan with vegetable oil; heat the frypan; add instead of those with added seasonings and vegetables; and stir gently until vegetables are sauces or boil-in-bag packages. Also because tender-crisp. Use your imagination - many canned vegetables are often high in sodium, vegetables are good stirfried. For example, try those with “low-sodium” or no salt added.

January 2001 Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office.

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• Look for large bags of frozen vegetables. Note: A range of servings is given for each food They may be bargains and you can pour out group. The smaller number is for people who the exact amount you need. consume about 1,600 calories a day, such as many sedentary women. The larger number is for those • Choose fresh vegetables that are clean and who consume about 2,800 calories a day, such as firm with smooth skins, and crisp and fresh active men. with no yellow leaves. • Get frozen foods last so they will stay solid until you get home. Choose packages that are frozen hard. Wet, limp, or stained packages may have been thawed and refrozen. • Do not buy cans that are bulging or badly dented.

Choose foods from each of five food groups

The Food Guide Pyramid illustrates the importance of balance among food groups in a daily eating pattern. Most of the daily servings of food should be selected from the food groups that are the largest in the picture and closest to the base of the Pyramid.

• Choose most of your foods from the grain products group (6-11 servings), the vegetable group (3-5 servings), and the fruit group (2-4 servings). • Eat moderate amounts of foods from the milk group (2-3 servings) and the meat and bean group (2-3 servings). • Choose sparingly foods that provide few nutrients and are high in fat and .

January 2001