You know that fruits and vegetables are important foods in a healthful nutrition plan. Figuring out how much of these gifts of Mother Nature you should eat daily, however, may leave you scratching your head. With a few simple tips, a bit of practice and some culinary creativity, you can quickly master including the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables into your daily nutrition routine.
Fruit Intake
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2 cups of fruit daily is recommended if you are a male age 14 or older. For adult women, the recommendation is 2 cups of fruit daily from age 19 through 30 and 1 1/2 cups after age 30.
Portions
Since most people do not chop their food into a measuring cup before eating, determining what counts as a cup of fruit can be perplexing. Examples of 1-cup servings of commonly consumed raw fruits include a small apple, half of a large apple, a medium pear, a large orange and a large banana. To estimate the size of fruit, if it fits in the palm of your hand, it is likely small to medium. If it is as big as your fist, it is probably large.
A 1-cup serving of canned fruit is approximately half of a standard can. An 8-oz. glass of fruit juice equals 1 cup of fruit. For dried fruits, such as raisins or apple chips, 1/2 cup counts as a 1-cup serving. Consult one of the many online databases or books that provide lists of fruit serving sizes to determine 1-cup portions for other fruits.
Vegetable Intake
The recommended intake of vegetables if you are an adult man is 3 cups through age 50 and 2 1/2 cups after age 50. If you are a woman, you need 2 1/2 cups of vegetables daily through age 50 and 2 cups after age 50.
Portions
As with fruit, learning to gauge what counts as a cup of vegetables takes a bit of practice. For nonleafy raw or cooked vegetables, such as peas, carrots or broccoli, get out your measuring cup and fill it to 1 cup. Pour the vegetables onto your plate to see what a 1-cup serving looks like. After doing this a few times, you will recognize a 1-cup serving without using a measuring cup. For canned vegetables, half a standard can is approximately a 1-cup serving.
For raw, leafy vegetables, such as spinach and lettuce, 2 cups equals a 1-cup serving because of their bulkiness. Use your measuring cup a few times as you did with the non-leafy vegetables to see what 2 cups of leafy vegetables looks like on your plate.
The USDA recommends including a variety of vegetables in your diet to gain the full array of nutrients from this food group. The five subgroups of vegetables include orange vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin; dark green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli; dry beans and peas, such pinto beans, tofu and lentils; starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and green peas; and other vegetables, such as tomatoes, asparagus, lettuce, cauliflower, beets and cabbage.
References
- MyPyramid.gov: How Much Fruit is Needed Daily?
- MyPyramid.gov: What Counts as a Cup of Fruit?
- MyPyramid.gov: How Many Vegetables are Needed Daily or Weekly?
- MyPyramid.gov: What Counts as a Cup of Vegetables?
- MyPyramid.gov: What Foods are in the Vegetable Group?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: What Counts as a Cup?
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