Extension Connection

How Green is Dark Green?
By Janet Hackert, Nutrition Specialist

Despite the chilly weather, we are planning and planting our garden already. As a Nutrition Specialist, I catch myself wondering if the produce I grow and harvest will allow me to meet the recommendations for a healthy eating plan, especially when it comes to the “dark green, orange and deep yellow” vegetables. I know what orange and deep yellow options there are, but how green is “dark green?”

In the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that if a person is consuming 1800 calories or more each day they should eat at least 3 cups per week of dark green vegetables. Here is a guide to some of the more common dark green and not-so-dark green vegetables, based on the amount of Vitamin A each contains.

One cup of chopped collard greens has 119% of the Vitamin A needed daily. So does a cup of chopped kale. One cup of fresh spinach has 75% and ½ cup of cooked spinach (which would be twice as much by weight because it is more compact) has 147% of the Vitamin A needed daily. One cup of shredded Bok Choy that one might eat in a salad has 87% of the daily Vitamin A needed, and ½ cup of broccoli has 24%.

From there, the Vitamin A found in other green vegetables goes down pretty quickly. A half a cup of green peas has 13%, of green beans has 8%, of green pepper has 5%, of zucchini has 4%, of snow peas has 3%, and a half cup of cabbage has 2% of the Vitamin A needed daily.

This is what differentiates the “dark green” vegetables from the regular green ones. So do we stop eating veggies from the second list? Not at all – we still need 6 or more cups per week of these. But to have a healthy eating plan, we need to remember to eat veggies from the first, dark green list throughout the week too. Whether from the garden, a farmers market or the store, enjoy a variety of green vegetables for optimum good health!

(Written March 28, 2008)

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Extension Connection Barb Ubben, Web Manager harrisonco@missouri.edu Last revised: 05/25/04