Vegetables: Count on Three to Five Servings

Just imagine Italian food without tomato sauce, Mexican food without salsa, or a stir-fry without broccoli! Vegetables add taste, color, texture, and nutritional value to many favorite meals. Many people think that they are too busy to eat enough vegetables or that vegetables just don't taste very good. But there are lots of easy ways to enjoy great-tasting vegetables without spending hours shopping and chopping!

The Food Guide Pyramid recommends eating three to five servings of vegetables a day. Vegetables contain very little fat, no cholesterol, plenty of dietary fiber, and lots of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are the chemicals found in plants that may protect our cells from the damaging effects of toxic substances, which can result in cancer and heart disease.

Three to five servings may sound like a lot of vegetables, but 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables or salad or 1/2 cup of cooked, frozen, or canned vegetables counts as a serving.

Other examples of one serving are:

3 to 5 spears of broccoli

7 or 8 baby carrots or carrot sticks

1 ear of corn on the cob

6 spears of asparagus

1 medium stewed or fresh tomato

1 medium baked potato

4 dark green lettuce leaves

Some people may find preparing fresh vegetables an inconvenience. So it's good to know there is little difference in the amount of nutrients in fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables. Frozen and canned vegetables are processed within hours of being harvested and are often fresher than "fresh" vegetables that may have been in transit or storage before you eat them. Also, frozen and canned vegetables are available year round, whereas some fresh vegetables may be available only seasonally. Eating both frozen and canned vegetables makes it easy to include those three to five servings each day for good health.

Whatever type of vegetables you choose, be careful not to overcook them. Cooking vegetables just right retains nutrients and preserves their appealing colors and flavors. Usually frozen and canned vegetables need only to be heated, while fresh vegetables should be cooked until tender but still crisp.

Whether eating at home, in restaurants, or on the run, you can find many easy ways to eat more vegetables every day. Remember you don't have to eat three to five different vegetables every day--you could eat a whole cup of broccoli to count as two servings. Here are some ideas to help include more vegetables into a healthful eating plan.

Combine one can each of kidney beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), green beans, and wax beans to make a multibean salad. Toss with low-fat or fat-free Italian dressing.

Top a microwaved baked potato with heated frozen broccoli or cauliflower in low-fat cheese sauce--a quick meal in just 10 to 15 minutes.

Add frozen or canned corn to salsa. Or, when making nachos, sprinkle some corn on tortilla chips with low-fat cheese. Olé!

Add vegetables to soup, rice mixes, or pasta dishes. Try adding one package of frozen pasta and vegetables to two cans of lower-sodium or reduced-fat chicken or beef broth.

Stir-fry vegetables using 1 teaspoon of oil per person. Season with ginger and soy sauce and serve over rice.

Stuff baby carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower florets into a pita pocket with low-fat cheese for lunch.

Stir peas into macaroni and cheese, tuna noodle, and other casseroles.

Roll up canned kidney or pinto beans, salsa, and low-fat cheese in a tortilla.

Here is a hearty sandwich containing vegetables--a meal in itself!

Turkey Veggie Melt

1 (1-lb.) pkg. frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots

1/4 cup creamy Parmesan salad dressing

1 (8-oz.) loaf French bread

1/2 lb. thinly sliced cooked turkey breast

3 oz. (3/4 cup) shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400^o F. In medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave frozen vegetables 3 to 7 minutes or until thawed; drain well. Stir in salad dressing.

Split French bread horizontally; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Arrange turkey evenly on bread halves. Spoon vegetable mixture over turkey. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in oven or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 400 calories; 65 mg cholesterol; 14 grams total fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 700 milligrams sodium; 5 grams fiber.

For more information, contact the American Dietetic Association/National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics Consumer Nutrition Hotline. For food and nutrition information or for a referral to a registered dietitian in your area, call 800/366-1655 of www.eatright.org/find.html. For customized answers to your food and nutrition questions by a registered dietitian, call 900/CALL-AN-RD (900/225-5267). The cost of the call will be $1.95 for the first minute and $.95 for each additional minute.

For information about Green Giant® vegetables, call 800/998-9996. Or write to Green Giant®, 2866 Pillsbury Center, Minneapolis, MN 55402-1464. This fact sheet is supported by a grant from Green Giant ®.