Q / A: What counts as a serving of fruit or vegetables?

Q: Is it OK to count snack foods that supposedly contain fruit or vegetables toward my 9-a-day goal?

Here's what Self's nutrition expert, Joy Bauer, R.D., had to say.

A. Sorry, but no. These products may have added vitamins, minerals and plant extracts (which make them a tad better than junk food) bu they'll never be as good as the real thing. Fruit and veggies are made up of so many biologically active compounds that it's impossible to replicate all their healthful ingredients in precisely the right amounts in packaged goods. And studies show that vitamins and phytochemicals don't act the same way when they are isolated and inserted into food as they do in whole food, probably because they work synergistically. The bottom line: You can't beat fresh for nutrition and flavor.