Definition of a cup of raw greens

TimC00k · February 2018

What exactly is the definition of a cup of raw greens (spinach, kale, etc)? Is it a cup of tightly packed greens or a cup of loosely packed greens? I know there are weight measurements but I don't have a food scale, so I just want to make sure I am eyeballing it correctly.

Thank you

Hilary · February 2018

This is a great question! It is definitely ambiguous, which is why we recommend measuring items like this by weight instead of volume. If you don't have a scale it might be more difficult, but you can try eyeballing by looking at the weight on your package of spinach and then dividing out a portion. If you want to be the most accurate you can, I would recommend picking up a kitchen scale!
Check out this great blog post for some more tips and tricks related to this topic! https://cronometer.com/blog/6-tips-getting-nutrition-data/

Susan_RD_101 · February 2018

@TimC00k

When dietitians count servings of vegetables, we consider each loosely-packed cup of leafy greens as 1 serving.

Kind regards,

Vickie · February 2018

@Susan_RD_101 I'm a little shocked to learn that one loosely packed cup of leafy green is one serving! That sounds like entirely too little vegetable if they recommend only 5 servings of that a day -- and even more shockingly, the average population doesn't reach that target!

Susan_RD_101 · February 2018

@Vickie

I know! Thankfully in Canada our food guide is being revised in order to put a greater emphasis on the importance of plant-based foods. My personal recommendation for vegetables is to include a side dish of them at least twice a day, eating as many as you can.

Kind regards,

Definition of a cup of raw greens

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