It's harvest time and farmers markets as well as local grocery stores are booming with fresh produce. Take advantage of the abundance by enjoying a delicious salad. All those veggies and greens are refreshing and satisfying, and since they're in season you can find an amazing variety this time of year.
This got me thinking about leafy greens and whether there is a huge difference nutritionally between them. I know dark-green spinach is much healthier than light-colored iceberg lettuce, but how much better?
To see the breakdown read more.
| 1 cup | Calories | Fiber (g) | Vitamin A (IU) | Iron (mg) | Potassium (mg) | Folate (mcg) |
| Your RDI (just to compare) | around 2,000 | 25-30 | 2,333 | 18 | 4200 | 400 |
| Romaine | 8 | 1 | 4,094 | .5 | 116 | 64 |
| Spinach | 7 | .7 | 2,813 | .8 | 167 | 58.2 |
| Iceberg | 10 | 1 | 361 | .3 | 102 | 21 |
| Arugula | 4 | 0 | 474 | .2 | 73.8 | 19.4 |
| Red leaf lettuce | 3 | 0 | 2,098 | .3 | 52.4 | 10.1 |
| Green leaf lettuce | 1 | 0 | 2,665 | .3 | 69.8 | 13.7 |
| Bibb (Boston) | 7 | 1 | 1,822 | .7 | 131 | 40.1 |
Source: Getty
Dune
Lots of good reasons to eat all of them. Except maybe iceberg, which is fine with me!
1Who knew -- Romaine, so healthy?
2I'm really surprised by the Romaine. I still love my mixed baby greens!!
3I love salads - especially when they use spinach, romaine, and red leaf lettuce.
4I'm totally partial to arugula, regardless of health benefits.
5I'm surprised by Romaine, I didn't realize it was THAT great. As always, a variety beats choosing a single one.
6I would never have guessed that iceberg would have the most calories.
7I usually eat a mixture of green leaf, Romaine, iceberg, and spinach. Gotta cover all the bases!
8wait, so why have you been telling us iceberg is useless? i don't see that. especially low in vitamin A is very good for north european women.
9Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.