How many greens?

[joy]

For those who believe in eating lots and lots of greens (and I do!):

Can someone give me a rough number of just how many servings/cups of greens one should consume? I'm trying to get more in by making green smoothies and eating salads, but I've got no idea what to aim for.

Thanks!

Joy

[Revvell]

Yanno? I'm thinking you are "trying" too hard. Relax a bit. There's nothing to "aim" for. Add them when and if it feels right ~ and enjoy the process, the taste, the smell, etc. There is nothing set in stone. No one here knows you and where you live and your lifestyle better than you do.

From what I'm reading, you are over-exuberant which tends to lead to a crash ~ which none of us wish to see anyone do. Take your time, enjoy your food. :)

Injoy ~

Revvell

[PixieGreen]

Revvell, that seems like a fairly judgemental response to a request for information. Joy didn't share her motivation for wanting more greens [which ARE healthy] or how much she is eating now.

Joy, it would be helpful if you shared that information. Are you trying to get more protein or calcium or correct an ailment? Or just eat a more balanced diet than fruitarianism? How many greens are you eating now? Personally, I feel weak when I eat too few greens and an abundance of fruit. I'm also trying to get back into weight lifting and it's important that I eat enough protein.

Christa

[Revvell]

Pixie, that was a fairly judemental response to my response. Of course greens are healthy yet to want to know exactly what to "aim" for is unreasonable as we do not know enough about her situation AND there is no point to "aim" for.

She already states she believes in eating lots and lots of greens. Sounds good to me!


Injoy ~

Revvell

[EmmaBlue]

Joy,

I think that is a great question. I wish I had an answer for it. I would like to have some kind of "guideline" also to aim for regarding consuming greens.

I tend to do better if I set small precise goals for myself, so I'd be interested to know if 2 cups or 3 cups of greens (or whatever) was the optimum amount.

Maybe someone else out there will know.

~emma

[joy]

This is what I'm currently eating:
Breakfast: handful or two of kale or spinach in a smoothie
Lunch or dinner: fairly large salad with greens (4 cups maybe?)
Otherwise, I eat a fair amount of fruit and veg, with some transition stuff for dinner these days.

I have found that I don't feel very well on a high-fruit, high-fat diet. I have some glycemic issues, high cholesterol (327 last I checked), and am trying to regulate my periods. I also work out regularly and like having sexy muscles! The mineral and protein content of greens make them ideal for these things.

It is good to have something to aim for. While the same amount of a given food may not be ideal for every person, it helps me to know what others find beneficial. A number of people on this board believe firmly in consuming lots of greens; I look forward to reading what works for you... :)

[Pailani]

When I make as green smoothie, I use one granny smith apple and 4 or 5 huge leaves of green leaf lettuce and whatever else I can think of to throw in. But those are the basic ingredients.

[Sweet lips]

Let's play well together here.

Looking over your daily eating pattern, you appear to be consuming enough. However, here is a loose guideline that may assist you:

Vegetables: 3-5 Servings minimum - now since that guideline is from the new pyramid, you may choose to add to that requirement.

1 serving = 1 cup raw leafy greens; Since calcium is a must needs for women - Green leafy vegetables such as kale are as good as or better than milk as calcium sources.

Remember you will need to listen, feel, hear and respect your body's requirements.

[Switzerland]

Joy,

You sound like your doing great, but I gotta say that Sweet Lips (props to her, she's awesome) is right on about you having to listen to your body and its requirements.

In addition to what everyone else has said, I think you are best to eat your greens when you desire them and feel like them. Don't force them though, then your body and taste buds will want to refuse them later on.

Make sure your getting enough Iodine in your diet though, the best source for this mineral is most sea vege's like kelp, dulse, and nori.

SW

[joy]

Thanks Sweet Lips and Switz, this is helpful.

Lately I seem to want greens all the time, so the 3-5 (or beyond) would work nicely.

...And sea veg! Good: one of my favorite things.

[VeganVixen]

also spirulina is a REAllY good source ,especially if you dont eat a lot of veggies that day you can still add a scoop to a smoothie -but whole greens are obviosly the best.

[sweetgoddess]

hey~go stand in the corner... ;)

Sharon shared a link to Janie's raw site the other day. So i went and browsed and read her journal. This teeny slip of a woman eats 16 cups of greens in her dinner salad. :eek: YOWSERS.
www.ringlet.org

[VeganVixen]

I know she is SO small and eats a ton-:::::jealous::::::

[Sharon in Colorado]

Here is an article about how many greens to eat in a day. Says she aims for a pound which sounds great if you are able to do it. I'm thinking this might help with cravings too, since you are gettin in a lot of good calcium this way - I've read about sugar cravings connected with the body wanting calcium.

http://associate.com/groups/healthseeker/read/?0::53

Although she does say she juices a lot of them. Probably not optimal, and a waste when you can throw them in a smoothie instead and get all the beneficial fiber.

Oh, here's a picture of Janie's salad:

http://www.ringlet.org/photos/recipes/Thurs1-6-05Salad.jpg

She says it's over half a pound and brings her same bowl to the store everyday where they weigh it....then all the customers comment on it and can't believe she will eat all that salad for her dinner.

[Pailani]

It's hard to tell how big that bowl is. From the spoon (fork?) it looks like a regular salad/cereal bowl.

[sweetgoddess]

I cant even imagine 16 cups of greens. 2-3 cups is a big salad for me and takes me half an hour almost to eat. Then again, I dont eat fruit all day like her. Interesting though isnt it? I thought it was a typo at first until I read a few days of her journal.

I am amazed at her calorie level...i cant recall but it was over 4000 calories a day!

[joy]

Yeeeeessssss! 16 cups or a pound (although yeah, that's quite a lot) seems a more satisfying goal than 3-5 cups.

The really amazing thing about Janie's diet is that it's low fat. She's gorgeous and seems to be doing fantastically on mad amounts of fruit and veg. I would love to try eating that way when my diet is more evolved.

And thank you, Sharon, for this info.

[Sharon in Colorado]

It's hard to tell how big that bowl is. From the spoon (fork?) it looks like a regular salad/cereal bowl.

From her Jan 05 journal:


"The bowl's 12" in diameter at the top and 8" at the bottom, and almost 6" tall. Today's lettuce and carrots weighed less than yesterday - a bit over half pound."

I personally use a shallow pasta serving bowl for my salads which measures 10" across the top (lip to lip), 7.5" at the base and is 2.5" high (LOL - I just whipped out a tape measure to measure it). It's holds a substantial amount of lettuce for me but appears not nearly as large as the one she uses.

[veg-one]

Wow, that seems like a lot of greens to try to consume! I do make a green drink every morning, (the one in Alissa’s book) with kale, collards, spinach, Swiss chard, celery, apple and sometimes other stuff and have a big salad everyday but I guess for me I just don’t think trying to consume a certain amount is something to worry about. Trying to figure out the exact amounts for everyone doesn’t seem right.

Don’t you think we all need different things and that some of us do better on more fats, more fruits, etc…?

Also, is it me or does she seem extremely skinny!? Im not trying to bad mouth her or anything. Im sure she’s a lovely person, but I definitely don’t want to look like that! It’s too thin! Maybe she needs to eat all that food because she is cutting out too much fats?

[VeganVixen]

I think that that is her natural body type -I have cut all fats (exept some olive oil and tiny amounts of avo) and am actually more than I was when I ate sad vegan -like fried tofu,veggie ,burgers,and soy cheese pizza-of course Im not overweight I was just VERY thin then ,its about body type-and shes just tiny ,I could have used that body in ballet class-lol!

[Sharon in Colorado]

Don’t you think we all need different things and that some of us do better on more fats, more fruits, etc…?



All our bodies run on carbs, and function the same. Where we are different has to do with our genetic make-up and personalities, tastes, etc. Maybe the way our bodies convert some nutrients into others could vary slightly from person to person.