"Vegetables provide our bodies with vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber and can be really tasty and fun."

Vegetable stand with tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber, carrots, eggplant and onions

Vegetables are the edible parts of plants consumed as food, for example, flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds. Vegetables provide our bodies with vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber and can be really tasty and fun. Here in the Caribbean, this group encompasses all foods that are dark green leafy, yellow, and other non-starchy vegetables.

As a tropical island, the Jamaican diet is filled with a variety of fresh vegetables as we have easy access to crops from home gardening and commercial farming. However, although we have access to vegetables we are still not consuming the recommended five servings per day of vegetables even though we are encouraged to do so. We do have access to mainly organic produce due to the size of the country and our current farming practices and we do tend to take this for granted.

Glass of green juice with orange, and kiwi in the background

An easy way to introduce more vegetables into the diet is through juicing. Natural juices are very common in Jamaica and also very accessible. These juices are normally freshly made and bottled and sold to a ready market, they are consumed almost immediately and therefore I do endorse this form of vegetable consumption. These products are consumed by men who would like 'build their stamina. My favorite juice combination is the Carrot and Cucumber with Lime which is very refreshing.

Here is a list of the vegetables we consume in the Caribbean and the measurement we use to determine a serving. well as the amount we refer to as servings.

DARK GREEN LEAFY, YELLOW, AND OTHER STARCHY VEGETABLES	MEASURE/EXCHANGE
GREEN LEAFY AND OTHER LOW-CALORIE VEGETABLES
Baghi	Vegetables such as those listed in this group may be used as desired if raw, as they do not have much energy. When cooked use only 1 cup. You may use these vegetables at each meal in addition to your other vegetable allowance.
Bamboo shoots
Cabbage
Callaloo bush (Dasheen leaves, Aramanthus)
Carailli
Cauliflower
Celery
Chives/green seasoning
Christophene/Chocho
Cress/Criches/Cressles
Cucumber
Kale
Lettuce
Melongene/Eggplant/Aubergine/Baigan
Mustard greens
Okra
Pak Choy/Bok Choi/Chinese Cabbage
Pawpaw, green
Spinach
Squash (Cucumber type)
Tomato
YELLOW AND OTHER VEGETABLES
Beetroot	½cup
Bodi	¾cup
Carrot	½cup
Chow Mein (Chinese vegetables)	½ cup
Mixed vegetables, canned	½ cup
Onions	1 medium or 2 small or ½ cup
Pumpkin	½cup
String beans, salad beans (immature pod)	¾ cup
Turnip	½cup

The next post will be a breakdown of the Fats and Oils food groups. As promised, we will then put all this information together to get a better understanding of meal planning and what it means to truly eat to survive.

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