Naturally, the induction amount of 20 grams of carbohydrate is the key figure to follow.

Allyoop is right in what Atkins says approximates 20 grams.

However a "cup" is an american measurement of infinite amusement and inexactitude to us brits.

For a start it is a liquid measure......8oz. An american half pint.

Far bigger than a cup of tea.

It does have its uses for free flowing grains, flour, sugar and other dry ingredients that are proportional for recipes. But salads and vegetables?

Have you tried getting a romaine lettuce leaf into a cup (1.6carbs), or asparagus(4 spears are 2.8carbs) or string beans. And don't ask me to stick my celery(1 stalk 1.7 carbs) up my fundament when it won't fit in the pesky cup!

On the other hand It took a whole cucumber sliced to fill a cup (3.3 carbs). That didn't seem right either.It also makes a difference if you actually have managed to loosely pack a salad into your cup as to whether you put the heavier cherry tomato on the top or not. If you put it in last it pushes the lettuce down a bit and you can get another leaf in

Try as I might I cannot get larger broccoli florets (7.5 carbs)with their stalks into cups.

What exactly is a salad? I ask myself. the ingredients are all different with different carb contents. Who puts a cup of sliced red peppers( 10.9 carbs) in a salad.

So at the end of the day you have to wing it and you wont go far wrong with Nats advice of two small salads and some low carb veggies