24 Cups of Broccoli?

I am an avid reader of BEEF Magazine, and a huge fan of their social media work. One of their recent articles which I stumbled upon this morning breaks down some of consumers misconceptions when it comes to beef products. The recommended amount of protein that active individuals, pregnant women and teenagers should get in one day is between 75-80 grams. To get this amount of recommended protein you would have to eat  24 cups of broccoli to match the protein in 1 9 oz serving of meat. I don't know about you, but I'd rather eat a steak!

The visual that the article had can be misleading without the facts to back it up, so lets break it down:

1 cup broccoli = 31 calories. You would have to eat more than 3 cups of broccoli to get 11.1 grams of protein. (Math isn't my strong suit, but 31 x 3 = 93 calories!)

on the other hand,  a 3 oz serving of beef = 25 grams protein, while the calorie count is only 180.

If you're anything like me, you just want the numbers to make sense, so let me simplify:

6.75 cups of broccoli = 25 grams of protein = 209 calories
3 oz of lean beef = 25 grams of protein = 180 calories 

(curious on how many calories are in Tofu, Black beans and Peanut Butter compared to lean beef? Check out this great resource! Beef Its What's For Dinner Fact Sheet )

My intent here is not to bash broccoli, but simply to present the facts and clear up some misconceptions. I have a small confession, I love broccoli too! The key to maintaining a healthy diet, is incorporating foods from all the food groups, in moderation. I will agree that eating only meat for every meal is not as healthy as eating meat, and vegetables, and fruit at every meal. (plus dessert, don't forget dessert!)