Q:  Is a pickle an appropriate "vegetable" for children?

Pickles are cucumbers that have been cured in brine, so technically they are vegetables. But, nutritionally speaking, there are better choices, say CNRC nutritionists. 

Pickles and cucumbers consist mainly of water with just a small amount of calcium, a trace of iron, a few calories and no protein.  Because they offer little nutritional value, they are not considered a "vegetable choice" in the School Lunch Program.

Although pickles are nutritional lightweights, they make a fun, tasty, fat-free, low-calorie condiment or snack.  But, do keep in mind that one large dill pickle provides over 1700 milligrams of sodium, or 70 percent of an adult's suggested daily supply.