I’ve read many articles about the nutritional value of various foods. Broccoli turns up quite often, as do bluberries, spinach and sweet potatoes. However, I’ve never seen lettuce touted as a source of any nutrient at all. So does lettuce (the iceberg variety in particular) even count as one of my daily servings of fruits and vegetables?
Lettuce does have nutrients in it and I don’t see why it shouldn’t count; for 10 calories (72 grams/1 cup shredded), you get 7% of the RDA for Vitamin A, 3% of Vitamin C, a full 22% of Vitamin K, 5% of folate and lesser amounts of many other vitamins and minerals, plus some fiber, even a bit of omega-3 fatty acids (and twice as much as omega-6). Maybe not the most nutrient-packed food, but it definitely does have nutrients (and with only 10 calories per cup, it might even have negative calories when digestion is accounted for; in fact, celery has more calories per gram and really does require more energy to digest than you get from it).
So saying that lettuce doesn’t have nutrients is like saying tomatoes don’t (not that pizza should count as a serving of vegetables, but it isn’t like no vegetables at all; a vegetable topping-laden pizza could meet the criteria of 1 serving, usually stated as half a cup).
I’ve occasionally heard people say lettuce is “just water”. Well, we know it’s more than that, but even if it wasn’t, water is a vital thing for the body.
Good Ole Ruffage. Lettuce is a good source of dietary fiber and helps keep the ‘plumbing’ working properly.
I wouldn’t count it as a veggie, but towards your total fiber intake.
Nutritionists seem to really get excited about using “good source of” but I’ve never seen it defined.
This also depends on what you mean by “lettuce”. The pale green iceberg lettuce that is well-known and common has less nutrients (but still some) than some other greens, arugula for example. Arugula, romaine, watercress, etc are all greens that are commonly used as a base of a salad and are in the lettuce family.
I personally don’t count iceberg towards a fruit and veg. serving, but do acknowledge that it contains water, fiber, and some nutrients. I will count other greens, or make my salad with baby spinach for even better nutrition.
From livestrong.com:
Arugula is tastier and more nutritious than iceberg lettuce. Iceberg is an American standard, developed in the 1920s by California growers who wanted to reach East Coast markets with vegetables that could survive the trip in iced boxcars. Iceberg is similar to arugula in calories and protein, but iceberg has 70 percent less calcium, 50 percent less magnesium, 40 percent less beta-carotene, 60 percent less vitamin A and 80 percent less lutein. In other vitamins and minerals, the two lettuces are similar.
Arugula Nutrition: Benefits, Calories, Warnings and Recipes | livestrong
Useless knowledge:
Lettuce is one of the few vegetables that is never sold in any form other than fresh. It is not sold frozen, cooked or processed (beyond shredding).
Dewey Makes a Germane Query.
Greens Vary Widely in their Nutrient Profiles, Method of Prep, water content, etc.
Colored ‘Lettuce’, too.
Iceberg is one of the least ‘dense’ in terms of value~ i’d like to see you supplement your salads with an ever-changing Variety… See what you like best, which dressings and add-ins are good for which Green or Combinations…
Salads are an Art unto themselves. Don’t limit yourself to a Life of Iceberg/carrot/cuke/grape tomato. Tho~ and this is Important~ by choosing a Salad INSTEAD of a processed, Fatty Snack ~ you can at least AVOID consuming some bad stuff.
Do you like Stinky Cheese? Starting with a Good Farm/Artisanal Cheese and building a Salad around it can be Fun AND very, very good for you. A hit at Dinner Parties, too…
Try Fun looking Lettuces Like Frisee or Mizuna to add a bit of Levity. Try mixing in Whole Leaf Raw Herbs like Purple Basil, cilantro, or Mint to add some Power Flavor. Salads don’t have to be all Raw, either. Some Maple Roasted Golden Beet adds color and Vitamins… and makes a Splash.
A good rule of thumb is to incorporate as many colors as you can into a Salad… Orange Fruits and Veggies, for instance, tend to be rich in Vitamin A/Beta Carotene: try shuffling in Peach, Apricot,Mango, Papaya, or Persimmon instead of Carrot, and adjust the Dressing to highlight the new Flavors. Nuts add nutrients, Texture, and Flavor, too.
Go Salad!
Doc once told me that too much salad leads to Unnecessary Capitalization Syndrome or UCS for short.
I have a License for This…
St.Barthgirl, thanks for some new ideas! We’ve rededicated ourselves to increasing our veggie intake, and a side salad with a dinner that includes another veg is an easy way to do that. But I don’t want us getting tired of the same side salad.
Other salad ingredients that I love at salad bars and don’t think to do at home: shredded butternut squash, shredded broccoli stems (I don’t like the raw florets much, but the stems are yummy), thawed frozen peas, olives, blanched green beans, asparagus…
We use mostly iceberg, spiked with romaine and/or “baby greens” because we like the crunch, but yes, other darker greens are generally considered more nutritious. Since any amount of lettuce we eat is less starchy fatty stuff we eat, I don’t particularly care how nutrient dense it is, though. It’s just something to put the other veggies on top of!
Kohlrabi tastes like the stems of broccoli - you should try it. It looks like a vegetable hand grenade, sometimes sold with greens still attached. Peel off the tough outer greenish skin, and slice or shred the crispy inner white part.
Very happy to oblige! i’m thrilled, and up for it any time…. i’m always looking for nifty ideas, too…
Slight hijack: One situation in which considering the nutritional value of lettuces/greens is essential is when you are feeding pets. Greens-eating lizards or furry critters (rabbits, probably guinea pigs) should ideally not eat iceberg lettuce. I’ve heard iguana owners refer to iceberg lettuce as “junk food” in that iguanas love the juicy taste and want to fill up on this lower-nutrient lettuce instead of eating the other higher-nutrient lettuces/greens/veggies they may want to have. Similarly, iceberg lettuce and even romaine hearts (versus the whole romaine head) are very low nutrition for rabbits, and are OK when there isn’t anything else, but should be minimized.
St.Barthgirl, your English writing is quite correct, but it seems like you learned orthography from a German who never wrote English. Just sayin.
Just to note: the greens are edible, too.
My mom and I grew it in her garden when I was a kid, but I haven’t had it since! Great idea, I’ll have to keep my eye out for it at the produce store. I don’t recall exactly when it comes in season around here, but I think it’s late summer/early autumn…
Kohlrabi is Fantastic! Yes, summer/early fall. it’s Great raw, sliced alumette or with a mandoline. You can also saute it simply, with brown butter is Nom Nom. as a side salad, it can be made like Celeriac Remoulade, too. A trick i use is Creme Fraiche for cold salad dressing, instead of Mayonaisse, or incorporated with a bit of mayo & mustard (do you like horseradish? lemon? experiment!)…
Creme Fraiche is one of the easiest things on the planet to make. Would you like a recipe? it’s also great as a hostess gift at casual dinner parties, in a pretty jar.
(Leo, i’m Not Ignoring you… is it forum culture to answer within a thread? isn’t that considered derailing or hijacking? or was it Rhetorical?)
It’s OK, as long as it doesn’t get too intimate or last too long. It’s kind of like in a bar when, after thrashing things out pleasantly for a while with a chance acquaintance, you realize that it would be nice to make a minor personal connection.
So how 'bout those Jets?