Is it true that iceberg lettuce is completely devoid
 

from the dr. mirkin newsletter

Dear Dr. Mirkin: Is it true that iceberg lettuce is completely devoid
of nutrition?

It's not devoid of nutrition, just a less concentrated
source of nutrients that the darker green leaf lettuces, spinach
and other leafy greens. Lighter colors in vegetables mean they
contain more water and therefore fewer nutrients "per cubic
inch." Here's a comparison of one cup of iceberg lettuce to
romaine lettuce: The iceberg lettuce contains 11mg calcium,
11mg phosphorous, .3mg iron, 88mg potassium, 19RE vitamin A,
and 2mg vitamin C; while the romaine lettuce has 20mg calcium,
25mg phosphorous, .6mg iron, 162mg potassium, 146RE vitamin
A, and 13mg vitamin C. Both have 7 calories, 1g protein, 1g
carbohydrate, 1g fiber. So iceberg lettuce is a perfectly good
food, but darker lettuces are even better.

Great topic!! It's not a good choice, yet it's all you see at most salad bars. It's cheap. I only like iceberg on a sandwich, if I want a little crunch. I prefer a nice mesclun or baby spinach leaves in my salad and even on sandwiches, though I do love a good butterhead.

I hate iceberg lettuce! LOL Its tasteless to me. I much prefer darker greens. Spinach, Spring Mix etc. But as Suzanne said, its cheap and thats what you usually find on salad bars.

The only other thing is iceberg makes great wraps. Thats the only situation I would use it.

I use romaine lettuce all the time from wraps, to sandwiches, to salads...

I feel like iceburg is a waste of time! I mean, what's the point? And if I get it in a restaurant, I understand from a cost standpoint, but I can't help feeling kind of ripped off! It hardly offers fiber, much less nutrients! I am sincerely passionate about mesclun, romaine, and spinach....and if a day passes when I don't get to eat some salad, I start to feel deprived. :lol:

I agree Sarah, I view iceberg lettuce as a waste of time. I eat a spinach salad almost every day or else I'll use some of the baby greens to mix it up. Basically its spinach spinach and more spinach, at least I think I'm getting some decent nutrients.

Add me to the waste of time plus I don't like the taste crowd. LOL

I want real greens! We are so lucky to have all kinds of greens to chose from. And organic ones too!

PS - Nelie I am here in Colorado too! Nice to meet you.

If you want something different on your sandwich, try mustard greens. They have just a little tang and are great!

Mmmm.....fresh mustard greens! Now that beats the HECK out of sad old iceburg, eh?? :lol: I microwave frozen mustard greens (and kale) all the time -- super quick and nutritious, but I don't think I've ever had fresh mustard greens -- to my knowledge anyway.

And here's a big "hip hip hooray!" for spinach! (On a side note, were you guys aware that a cup of frozen, nuked or boiled, unsalted spinach has almost as much potassium as a whole banana? Far fewer calories of course, and more fiber! I always have trouble hitting my day's potassium requirement, so I found this interesting. Fresh has far less, curiously -- I'm guessing because it's not as dense per cup.)

so it's unanimous then! no iceberg lettuce, it's for wimps!
that's interesting about the spinach? is that 1 cup cooked or raw? if it's raw that sounds good but i don't think i can go for a cup of cooked spinach.

gen

Okay, Iceberg is the big loser, but unfortunately it is the most affordable on a budget. I usually layer iceberg then put a layer of Spring greens on my salads. I grew up on iceberg when my mothers idea of a salad was a head of iceberg lettuce covered with Western dressing (I don't blame her, she had nine kids to feed), I get most of my nutrition from the tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, etc that I pile on top.