Five 'veggies' that really don't count

Posted on Feb 20th 2008 9:28PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Vegetarian, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements

We all know we're supposed to get five to 10 servings of fruits and veggies a day. But let's face it--fresh veggies aren't nearly as crave-worthy as, say, pizza or dessert or, well, any kind of bad-for-us foods. And since we tend to favour what's unhealthy, we can sometimes skew our vision of what constitutes a vegetable.

Do you consider any of the following a serving of vegetables?

A slice of deep-dish veggie pizza
The cucumber sticks in your sushi rolls
Potatoes, in any form, including French fries
Spinach dip
Apple pie

If so, you need to re-evaluate your idea of 'vegetables.' While veggie pizza is slightly healthier than pepperoni pizza, it's not good for you by any stretch of the imagination. When you're getting your veggies, make sure they're fresh and without too many unhealthy additives.

Mark's Daily Apple has an even more detailed list of faux veggies and great descriptions of why they're no good -- go check it out!

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Crabby McSlacker 2-20-2008 @ 11:43PM

I agree that it's pretty funny the way people will count a pickle on their cheeseburger as a vegetable.

On the other hand, when the article says vegetable tempura or veggie deep dish pizza don't count, it's kind of confusing two questions:

1. Is there enough of a nutritious vegetable there to count?

2. Is the meal unhealthy anyway because it's full of junky stuff you shouldn't eat?

Seems like you should still be able to count good vegetables even if they hang out in bad company. Just make it a priority not to eat too much junk in your diet.

But I say you still get to count the veggies.

Martha Edwards 2-22-2008 @ 12:49AM

Hmm. I think you have a point there

nikkicookers 2-25-2008 @ 7:35PM

I agree, just because a dish might not be healthy, doesn't mean that the veggies on it are not counted. You could say that these dishes aren't primarily recommended. But I don't think you can cut out counting the veggies.

nikki cook
http://fitconnect.com/lilnicky1234