A serious question regarding nutrition

[Deja Q]

They say one should eat 5 servings of vegetables per day.

Broccoli is a vegetable.

One serving of broccoli is 1/2 cup.

How do they define this?

Taking a handful of uncut florets and putting it into a measuring cup?

Chopping up a couple handfuls of florets and putting them into a measuring cup?

Grinding up several handfuls of florets into a fine sawdust consistency and putting all of it into a measuring cup?

Thanks!

[GOPisEvil]

1. This is why weight should be used in conjunction with volume.

It would make life easier, if you own a scale. :)

[Deja Q]

3. But everybody sells by weight, not by volume.

:rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

5. EXACTLY!!!!

Buy one pound of broccoli and then add 1 cup too your recipe! :wtf:

[havocmom]

6. I am overweight, therefore I ate my veggies?

Oh... you mean, weigh the veggies first ;)

Someone recently asked me about a recipe that called for ingredients by weight and why that was. Explained that, in baking especially, ingredients can 'settle' and therefor have less volume. Showed it with a cup of sifted flour, tapped down. See, by volume, could mean less or more flour which could wreck some recipes.

Got in trouble as a kid, asking how many apples was in my little bowl of applesauce.

[Nikia]

8. All the our food formulations are based on weight

Where I work in food processing.
Any processed food that you buy with multiple ingredients was made by weighing ingredients with the possible exception of water and other uniform liquids.
There have been a few formulations that I did in the lab that were based upon recipes with the usual cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. I weighed each ingredient like that several times. With a couple ingredients, I knew that they should be roughly the same density but when I actually weighed them. Food isn't always consistent. Most of it was once living things which are known for being inconsistency.

[havocmom]

2. Any of the above

It's an art, not a science ;)

Ever make broccoli souffle? MMMMMmmm good. Veggies and protein in one neat dish. Spinach souffle is wonderful too. I make a big bunch up and then freeze it in smaller containers to be baked and gobbled down when I don't feel like cooking. Great way to save part of a bumper crop from one's garden.

[Hugin]

4. I'm pretty sure it's option #2...

Chopping them and putting them in a measuring cup.

A 'serving' is supposed to be the amount any reasonable person would
have as part of a meal.

Now, we all know on the nutrition statement on food products the
suppliers play fast and loose with the 'serving size'. I mean...
"8 chips" as a serving size for potato chips! LOL! How's about
putting it in 'Bags'!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. I'd guess 1/2 cup is 4 ounces, so weigh it out.

That was the "serious" answer.

You also need a "dumb" answer:
So, make a broccoli smoothie in the blender and measure 1/2 cup. Bon Apetit.