Tag: cruciferous veggies

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies. This is another childhood favorite. My mom steamed it with butter and if you put butter on veggies, I’ll eat it. Now I love cauliflower roasted in butter. It’s simple and delicious. I also love cauli mash (instead of potatoes), cauli rice (here’s one of my favorite recipes), and cauli alfredo. It’s such a versatile veggie AND it’s good for you!!!

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests that folks try roasted caulitflower – especially the purple variety or use a yogurt dip for raw cauliflower.

Food Facts:

  • Member of the Brassica/Cruciferous family.
  • White cauliflower is rich in glucosinolates, an important antioxidant.
  • Colorful varieties contain even more antioxidants than white cauliflower. For example, purple cauliflower, the graffiti variety, has two and a half more times the antioxidants than white cauliflower. 
  • It is believed that the white variety is actually an albino mutant from the more colorful varieties.
  • For fresh cauliflower, look for:
    • bright green leaves
    • no spots, speckles, or bruises
    • no traces of grey mold
  • It can be stored for about week in the fridge without compromising the nutrient value.
  • Steaming or sautéing the cauliflower will retain the most nutrients. Avoid boiling cauliflower.
  • Opt for fresh over frozen for the most nutrition.
  • Good source of vitamins B6, C, and K, folate, potassium, maganese, and omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Good source of fiber.
  • Due to its sulforaphane content, it is veggie that is great for the liver.
  • Contains many anticancer properties.

Sources:

The 52 New Foods Challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, Superfoods by Tonia Reinhard, and Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson.

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Brussels Sprouts

B R U S S E L S  S P R O U T S ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Hopefully that conveys my excitement for this fall and winter veggie. I could seriously have them nearly every day and still love them. But it wasn’t always that way. The first time I had Brussels sprouts was at my step sister’s wedding in 2009. I had avoided them for all of my childhood and well into my twenties. At the wedding, they were pretty boring, so I didn’t add them to my list of new favorites just yet. Then in 2010 I began working for Tomatero Organic Farm and in the fall we had Brussels. So I bought some and found a recipe in a cookbook for how to prepare them (roasted in butter and topped with bacon). And you know what? I LOVED them. From there on out, I was hooked!

Brussels Sprouts Vegetables Food Brussel Sprouts

Danielle Walker of Against All Grain has a great recipe and I have created my own favorite recipe too. Look for it soon! Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests Brussels Sprouts Chips, which surprisingly, I have yet to try! She also suggests roasting them with bacon [this is a very common way they are prepared] and also sautéed with lemon and walnuts.

VEGGIE TIP: If you aren’t on the Brussels bandwagon yet, it’s probably because these are DENSE little veggies and if not cooked through to the center, they aren’t very tasty. Using a food processor, try grating them or slicing them (my favorite). Now they will be cooked through and it won’t take an hour to chew them.

Food Facts:

  • Member of the brassica/cruciferous family.
  • Sinigrin and progoitrin and the bitter chemicals that are responsible for some folks distaste of Brussels sprouts.
  • Brussels kill more human cancer cells than any other member of the cruciferous family.
  • When shopping for brussels:
    • It’s important to buy them in season for less of a bitter flavor.
    • Brussels should be bright green with densely packed leaves.
  • Frozen Brussels have only 20% of the caner-fighting compounds as fresh Brussels.
  • Like broccoli and artichokes, Brussels respire rapidly, so refrigerate immediately and eat as soon as possible.
  • Steaming Brussels for 6-8 minutes will help them to retain the most nutrients (although that’s not how I like to cook them).
  • Great source of vitamin B6, C, and K, folic acid, beta-carotene,  thiamine, and potassium.
  • Rich in fiber.
  • Contain the antioxidant, glucosinolates, that help to fight cancer.

Sources:

The 52 New Foods Challenge by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson, and Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno.

 

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Radishes

Radishes more of a versatile vegetable than I had originally thought. Rewind to a few years back, and I only included raw radishes in salads or possibly in taco truck tacos. Nowadays I like them pickled and ROASTED! To roast radishes: simply top and tail the radishes and then cut in half (if using the cherry belle or french breakfast varieties; cut into smaller one inch cubes if using larger varieties). Add the radishes to a roasting pan with some grass-fed butter and sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees until a knife easily pierces. They taste just like POTATOES!!!!! This is perfect for those avoiding nightshades or white carbs! Jennifer Tyler Lee recommends pickling radishes or wilting the greens and flash sautéing the radishes. Radishes are also quite easy to grow and mature very quickly.

Food Facts:

  • A member of the cruciferous veggie family.
  • Depending on the variety, some are very mild, while others are very spicy.
  • Several varieties grow in the spring (smaller, round or oval shape, crisp white flesh, less pungent), while others grow in the summer/fall/winter (larger, more fibrous, more pungent flavor, take twice as long to grow).
  • Radish greens are edible and have significantly more vitamin C  than the roots and more calcium as well.
  • Radishes are a good source of vitamin C.
  • Red Globe radishes are a good source of molybdenum, folic acid, and potassium.
  • Daikon radishes are a good source of copper and potassium.
  • Believed to be cancer-protective.
  • Supports healthy liver and gallbladder function and can improve digestion.
  • Have been used in India as a diuretic, expectorant, laxative, and to treat gastric discomfort.
  • Cooking diminishes the vitamin C content (raw is the way to go! – unless of course you have radishes coming out your ears and you’re bored with raw radishes).

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee and Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno.

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Romanesco

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Romanesco

I LOVE roasted crucifers, and this one  is no exception. Jennifer Tyler Lee also recommends sautéing it with EVOO (I would use butter) and lemon and parmesan. Sounds yummy too!! I recently made “cauli rice” using romanesco and it was delicious! 🙂

Food Facts: IMG_0147

  • Member of the cruciferous family- related to cauliflower
  • Contains four times more glucosinolates than white cauliflower
  • Cauliflowers have a lower respiration rate than broccoli and therefore can be stored for up to a week in the fridge without compromising the nutritional value.
  • Was developed from wild cabbage
  • Cancer fighting vegetable
  • Good source of B Vitamins, vitamin K, & C, potassium, phosphorous, boron, and fiber
  • On the ANDI scale it scores 295/1000 (a rating of nutrients per calorie)

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, and Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Bok Choy

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Bok Choy

Food Facts: 172a2806-edit-bok-choy-1500px

  • Higher nutritional content than cabbage
  • Member of the cruciferous family
  • Contains high level of antioxidants making it great for fighting free radicals and preventing cancer
  • High levels of beta-carotene- 11th highest food source of vitamin A
  • Good source of Vitamins B6, K, & C, potassium, folate, iron, manganese, and calcium
  • It ranks 5th on the ANDI scale and scores 865/1000 (a rating of nutrients per calorie)

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipesand www.whfoods.com.

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The 52 New Foods Challenge – Kale

Last year I started The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes. My goal was to try the new food designated for each week and to blog about why others might want to try it too. Well, I didn’t quite finish it. 🙁 So I’ve decided to start it again. Many of the foods might not be “new” for me or for you, but I like the idea of trying new things and shaking up my day-to-day food routine.

Food Facts:

  • Good source of vitamins K, C, and A

  • Contains more than twice the the level of antioxidants of other leafy greens
  • Antioxidants include: beta-carotene, lute in, zeaxanthin
  • Good source of folate, fiber, manganese, potassium, copper, and calcium
  • It scores 1000/1000 on the ANDI score (a rating of nutrients per calorie)
  • Is good for preventing: cancer, cardiovascular disease, degenerative eye diseases, and stomach ulcers
  • Red leaf kale varieties have more nutrients than green leaf varieties
  • Has more calcium than milk!!!!!
  • Raw often has more nutrients
  • However, raw kale, like other raw cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels, etc.) can be goitrogenic, if you have thyroid problems – it is important that you eat cooked kale
  • For kale chips,  350 degrees produces the most nutrient chips


From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet by Tonia Reinhard.