Calorie Content, Vegetables | Tips:Getting Vegetables in the Daily Diet | Health Benefits of Vegetables | What Foods are in the Vegetable Group?
What Counts as a Serving of Vegetables? How Many Vegetables Does Your Body Require Per Day?
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How many daily vegetables does your body require daily to remain healthy, wealthy & wise? Well, let's amend that to 'healthy & wise' because who needs to be wealthy when they have good health, right? Right.....
The amount of vegetables that your body requires depends on many factors including: age, sex, activity level, muscle mass, current weight. The USDA recommends the following amount of daily vegetables based on age and a moderate physical activity level.
Active individuals may be able to consume more vegetables while remaining within their body's daily calorie (energy) requirement. The daily recommendation for vegetables below is based on an activity level of 30 minutes of moderate activity per day beyond normal daily activities.
Take special note that vegetable choices should be selected from among the vegetable subgroups (dark green vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, beans, peas, starchy vegetables and other vegetables). Although the USDA does not instruct an individual to consume vegetables from each subgroup daily, they do recommend that over the space of one week that the individual aim to consume the amounts listed below in the subgroups.
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AGE |
DAILY VEGETABLES RECOMMENDATION |
Dark Green Vegetables - Per Week |
Orange & Yellow Vegetables - Per Week |
Dry Beans & Peas - Per Week |
Starchy Vegetables - Per Week |
Other Vegetables Per Week |
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Children
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2-3 years old |
1 cup |
1 cup |
1/2 cup |
1/2 cup |
1 1/2 cups |
4 cups |
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4-8 years old |
1 1/2 cups |
1 1/2 cups |
1 cup |
1 cup |
2 1/2 cups |
4 1/2 cups |
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Girls
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9-13 years old |
2 cups |
2 cups |
1 1/2 cups |
2 1/2 cups |
2 1/2 cups |
5 1/2 cups |
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14-18 years old |
2 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
3 cups |
6 1/2 cups |
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Boys
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9-13 years old |
2 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
3 cups |
6 1/2 cups |
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14-18 years old |
3 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
6 cups |
7 cups |
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Women
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19-30 years old |
2 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
3 cups |
6 1/2 cups |
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31-50 years old |
2 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
1 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
3 cups |
6 1/2 cups |
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51+ years old |
2 cups |
2 cups |
2 cups |
2 1/2 cups |
2 1/2 cups |
5 1/2 cups |
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Men
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19-30 years old |
3 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
6 cups |
7 cups |
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31-50 years old |
3 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
6 cups |
7 cups |
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51+ years old |
2 1/2 cups |
3 cups |
2 cups |
3 cups |
3 cups |
6 1/2 cups |
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What counts as a cup of vegetables?
Aim for 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or 1 cup of vegetable juice. Two cups of raw leafy greens equals 1 cup from the vegetable group.
| TYPE OF VEGETABLE |
AMOUNT EQUALING 1 CUP OF VEGETABLES |
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Dark Green Vegetables
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| Broccoli |
1 cup chopped broccoli or 1 cup florets or 3 spears about 5" long |
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Greens |
1 cup, cooked |
| Spinach |
1 cup, cooked or 2 cups, raw |
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Raw, Leafy Greens |
2 cups, raw |
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Orange & Yellow Vegetables
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| Carrots | 1 cup chopped, raw or cooked; 2 medium carrots or 1 cup baby carrots |
| Pumpkin | 1 cup cooked, mashed |
| Sweet Potato | 1 large baked potato; 1 cup sliced or mashed (cooked) |
| Winter Squash | 1 cup cubed, cooked |
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Dry Beans & Peas
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| Black, Chick, Kidney, Pinto, Soy, Peas | 1 cup whole or mashed, cooked |
| Tofu | 1 cup or about 8 ounces |
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Starchy Vegetables
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| Corn, all varieties | 1 cup; 1 large ear |
| Green Peas | 1 cup |
| White Potatoes | 1 cup diced & mashed; 1 medium baked/boiled; 20 medium fries |
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Other Vegetables
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| Bean Sprouts | 1 cup, cooked |
| Cabbage, green | 1 cup, chopped or shredded - raw or cooked |
| Cauliflower | 1 cup pieces or florets - raw or cooked |
| Celery | 1 cup diced or sliced - raw or cooked; 2 large stalks |
| Cucumbers | 1 cup raw, sliced or chopped |
| Green or Wax Beans | 1 cup, cooked |
| Peppers - Green or Red | 1 cup chopped, raw or cooked; 1 large pepper |
| Lettuce, Iceberg or Head | 2 cups raw - shredded or chopped |
| Mushrooms | 1 cup - raw or cooked |
| Onions | 1 cup chopped - raw or cooked |
| Tomatoes | 1 large raw tomato, 1 cup chopped or sliced raw, canned or cooked |
| Tomato or Vegetable Juice | 1 cup |
| Summer Squash or Zucchini | 1 cup cooked - sliced or diced |
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