Lettuce/Veggie Question

[kat7hy]

Hi all,
So I'm trying to follow induction to the letter and I have a question: I am confused about my spring salad mix and my raw spinach. I eat them daily and know that it's 2-3 cups 'loosely packed' - is that right? What confuses me is that for example, my raw spinach 1 cup serving equals 2 oz according to the label. Tonight I actually weighed those spinach leaves with my food scale and as a result it was a cup but tightly packed. So what is correct? I did the same for my spring mix and same thing - the actual amount results in a tightly packed cup. Is it loosely or tightly packed? Thanks so much!

[Georgiana]

What are you using to track your foods? Just enter the amounts in ounces... it's easier to weigh an elephant than to measure its volume.

[kat7hy]

Very true! When you measure your lettuce/spinach etc. though to have a salad do you use a tightly packed cup of lettuce or very loose? The difference of amounts is significant but I found tightly packed accurately reflects the ounces and must be right?

[Georgiana]

Something in between -- not too tight, not too loose.

[Elizellen]

I use scales to weigh my lettuce as measuring solid food in a liquid measuring cup is so alien to us Brits

According to the USDA database http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

1 cup iceberg = 55 gr

which is about 2 biggish leaves of the size of lettuce we get here.

If you can't get your head around the USDA site and want an easier list to use, the weight of veg per cup has been collated in a thread by Soliwit , one of our European members) here http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...p-measure.html (Weights of vegetables per cup measure).

[kat7hy]

Thanks to you both - it's amazing how many questions are coming up for me the first week! Feeling good today though. Have a great day and thank you!!!

[pudellvr]

I strongly recommend that you get a scale. I am an American and had switched to scale measuring after reading and watching Alton Brown [Good Eats]. This link http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...p-measure.html (Weights of vegetables per cup measure) will help you greatly. I printed it off and taped it to the inside of my cabinet door. Much easier than dirtying my measuring cups all of the time and much more accurate. Just put your bowl or plate on the scale turn it on and start adding food.

Tricia

[kat7hy]

Thanks so much - that is very helpful!!