The USDA has a great interactive website called MyPlate. You can type in your personal information and get feedback specific for your lifestyle. One of the standard tables that I refer to on this site is the minimum vegetables servings for each age group. When you first glance at the daily vegetable recommendations, you might think "that's not a lot" or "I get that daily"... Sadly, THINK AGAIN!
It is very common for children to eat NO vegetables for several days at a time. When your taste buds are repeatedly stimulated with sugary foods it's really hard for vegetables to compete. Below are the daily recommendations for vegetables (individuals who exercise less than 30 minutes a day). Remember, this is the BASIC recommendation... If you are physically active eat more!
Children:
2-3 years: 1 cup
4-8 years: 1 1/2 cups
Teens:
Girls
9-13 years: 2 cups
14-18 years: 2 1/2 cups
Boys
9-13 years: 2 1/2 cups
14-18 years: 3 cups
Adults:
Women
19-30 years: 2 1/2 cups
31-50 years: 2 1/2 cups
51 years and older: 2 cups
Men
19-30 years: 3 cups
31-50 years: 3 cups
51 years and older: 2 1/2 cups
*Eating the minimum recommended amount of vegetables daily will not meet your daily fiber needs.
