Vegetables
Most vegetables are super-foods. Why? They do much more than supplying vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are packed with antioxidants and other phytochemicals; biologically active substances which scientific evidence suggests may help protect against a vast array of diseases.
But you must get all this wonderful compounds from food; they don't work half as well when you get them from a pill or a bottle.
Look for freshness first and most. Top of your list should be fresh, seasonal vegetables.
Local seasonal vegetables are usually harvested at their peak, they do not have to be cold-stored for long periods, and local seasonal vegetable don't need to travel far. They keep most of their nutrients and top flavor. Vitamins and other nutrients fade away with time.
- green vegetables should be fresh and crisp
- roots and tubers should be firm
- bulbs, like onions, should be dry and free of mould
- too small vegetables might be tasteless
- overgrown vegetables might be coarse.
Don't be tempted to buy more vegetables than you can use. Always buy them in the quantities you need. Keep a look for seasonal bargains, but buy in bulk only if you plan to freeze or preserve the excess.
Frozen and canned vegetables also count. Frozen vegetables are also harvested at their peak, prepared -usually cleaned and given a quick bath in boiling water to set color- and frozen very quickly. Nutrient loss is minimal and freezing halts any further degradation. Sometimes, not always, they have additives to preserve color, and that is the only concern.
If vegetables are not refrigerated quickly after harvest, their nutrients vanish in a couple of days. Compared to vegetables that were picked up, cold-stored, transported then to the other side of the world, with further storage, trucking and boxing before they made it to your grocery shop and to your table, frozen vegetables might be more nutritious.
Though canned vegetables are not as nutritious as fresh or frozen, canned vegetables are better than no vegetables at all. Choose cans with minimum extras: meaning minimum added salt or sugars, substances not relevant. Most canned vegetables will have some form of preservative or undergo special process, apart from the boiling bath, to kill any lurking germs and to break up enzymes that would lead to degradation of food; this is an essential food safety measure, even if it reduces some of the nutrients.
The nutrients lost during the canning process are usually of the water-soluble kind, like vitamin C and B vitamins, including folic acid. Carotenoids, the kind of compounds giving color to carrots, tomatoes, and green leafy vegetables, thrive through the canning; sometimes their levels improve and they become more digestible. Canned carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, corn, or canned tomato sauce might be a good option.
Vegetables are delicious and essential in a healthy diet. Vegetables add fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytochemicals. Which vegetables are most beneficial? Usually, those vegetables with the deepest, most vibrant colors are the ones packed with more nutrients.
| TOP VEGETABLES IN YOUR LIST |
broccoli
carrots
tomatoes
avocado
butternut squash
sweet potatoes |
mushrooms
garlic, onions
beans, including soy
|
kale, spinach, chard, spring greens and other green leafy vegetables
peppers, especially red |
|
A serving of cooked vegetables is about four heaped tablespoons. |
All vegetables bring nutrients essential to your diet, different from those in other vegetables, and you should vary your diet. For instance, parsnips are low in vitamin C and beta-carotene, but they have high levels of fiber. Beans have high levels of fiber, vitamin B, calcium and iron, not so much vitamin C. So don't limit yourself and vary your choice. This is your best chance to get everything you need.
Light vegetables soups, sauteed, and stir-fried vegetables are an excellent option in spring. Many vegetables are at their most tender during spring and they will not need much cooking, light steaming is all what they would need.
Cold soups, like gazpacho, or vegetable salads will help you to overcome the summer heat. Think of adding vegetable parcels to your barbecue. Roasted or steamed corn flavors the end of summed and beginning of fall season.
During fall, stewed vegetable are more tempting than purely sauted or steamed vegetables as side dishes. Pumpkin makes it ot all kind of recipes during fall.
Heavy bean soups and vegetable bakes are comfort food in a cold winter. Add vegetables to your roasts.
Wash vegetables before cooking; wash even the organic ones. Washing reduces not only the pesticides but it also removes dust - Vegetables on a market stall might have been exposed to fumes from cars- and soil particles, mould spores or invisible insect eggs.
