Vegetables Fun Facts

• Bell peppers are usually sold green, but they can also be red, purple or yellow.

• Tomatoes are very high in the carotenoid Lycopene; eating foods with carotenoids can lower your risk of cancer.

• Other vegetables high in carotenoids are carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and collard greens.

• Most of the nutrients in a potato reside just below the skin layer.

• A horn worm can eat an entire tomato plant by itself in one day!

• In the United States, more tomatoes are consumed than any other single fruit or vegetable!

• California produces almost all of the broccoli sold in the United States.

• White potatoes were first cultivated by local Indians in the Andes Mountains of South America.

• Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing!

• A baked potato (with skin) is a good source of dietary fiber (4 grams).

 

• Actually a fruit, it took a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1893 to make the tomato a vegetable.

• Potatoes first appeared in Europe in 1586; they made it to North America in 1719.
• The potato disease “Late Blight” was the principal cause of the Irish Potato Famine, which killed a half million people.
• It is recommended that you eat five servings of fruit or vegetables a day. A serving equals one-half cup.