FULL STORY:  Pound for pound, which vegetable do you think is the healthiest?

The CDC has a list based on “nutrient density,” or how jam-packed different vegetables are with vitamins and minerals compared to how many calories they contain.  The ones with the most nutrients and fewest calories rank highest.

So which one would you guess is at the top?  If you said broccoli, you’re wrong.  But if you said spinach . . . you’re also wrong.

The most nutrient-dense vegetable is . . . WATERCRESS.  If you’re a vegetable rookie, that’s a type of lettuce.

Here are the Top 10 vegetables on the list . . .

1.  Watercress.  It’s nutrient dense.  The one drawback is there’s not much fiber in there.  So it shouldn’t be the only vegetable you eat.

2.  Chinese cabbage.

3.  Chard.

4.  Beet greens.

5.  Spinach.  

6.  Chicory.

7.  Leaf lettuce.  That’s types that grow loosely on their own, not as part of a head of lettuce.

8.  Parsley.  You shouldn’t load up on it though.  Too much parsley can cause kidney stones in some people.

9.  Romaine lettuce.

10.  Collard greens.

If none of those sound appealing, then arugula, broccoli, and brussels sprouts also rank pretty high.  But again, we’re just talking about nutrients vs. calories, so don’t feel like you have to avoid everything else.

Fitting more vegetables of ALL types into your diet is a good idea in general.  But on the other end of the spectrum, the least nutritious vegetables include celery, iceberg lettuce, and cucumbers because they’re mostly water.

(Food & Wine)