As with other salad greens, there aren’t many carbs in iceberg lettuce (just two grams per shredded cup), as well as a negligible amount of protein (less than one gram) and virtually no fat, according to the USDA. Nutritionally speaking, all of these offerings are pretty similar in terms of not being a major source of macronutrients. By “regular” lettuce, let’s say we’re talking about things like romaine, red or green leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, or arugula, etc. What’s the difference between iceberg lettuce and regular lettuce? (The way we define “healthy eating” is pretty fraught anyway, given the influence of diet culture and discounting of important factors like joy and connection, food access, and culture.) Change the lettuce’s context by, say, sticking it in chicken and pepper fajitas or tucking it into a hummus and veggie wrap-foods that more people see as being healthier-and it starts to look a whole lot different. But because they usually don’t have the nutrition profile and glowing health halo of, say, a fiber-rich quinoa bowl, those foods tend to be looked down upon in the nutrition world-and by extension, iceberg lettuce does too. Of course, there’s nothing actually wrong with eating nachos or burgers, and all foods have their place in a varied, balanced diet. It’s typically thrown on top of things like nachos and burgers, or tossed with rich, creamy salad dressings, for instance.

But first, another big reason for iceberg’s bad rap: the fact that it tends to get involved with foods and dishes that aren’t always seen as meeting our collective standard of good for you, notes Largeman-Roth. We’ll talk more about comparing iceberg lettuce nutrition to its rival greens in a minute.

Carbs in iceberg lettuce