It’s all about the bountiful vegetable this month. No better Month than the start of summer to look at why veggies are so important, best buying practices and the many ways to cook, prepare, store!
My love of veggies is defiantly a newer found love. As a reformed junk food, junkie and processed food lover. My idea of a vegetable was a can of corn or an occasional salad with the standard fair covered in ultra-processed ranch. The idea of eating rainbow swiss chard in sautéed bacon for breakfast was nothing I have ever thought of or was exposed to. So to say I had no understanding what real vegetables were is an understatement. I get it, change is hard but doable. I am still learning and challenging myself to try new green stuff. So I know if I can do, it you can too.
So let's start with the benefits of more vegetables on the table.
Fiber baby, Fiber!! When loading up on fiber, you have improved digestion and a fuller feeling after eating. How much fiber should we shoot for? 25grams. Is there a difference in the fiber from veggies and from grains. The answer is yes. Here is a great article explaining the differences. For now, let’s look at which greens give us the most fiber!
1. Artichokes (cooked) 7.2 g
2. Green Peas 4.4g ½ cup
3. Lima Beans 4.5g ½ cup
4. Parsnips 2.8g ½ cup
5. Collard Greens (cooked) 3.8g ½ cup
Phyto-Nutrients: A fancy word for micro nutrition that we need in multiple varieties. Below are the Top 10 nutrient dense vegetables
1. Watercress
2. Chinese cabbage
3. Chard
4. Beet greens- tops of the beets
5. Spinach
6. Chicory ( root that tastes like Coffee)
7. Leaf lettuce
8. Parsley
9. Romaine lettuce
Improved Digestion. This is a given considering the fiber. One tip, if you have bloating with the increased veggies add WATER and try avoiding the raw. Give them a sauté in full on butter instead. Also to help with bloating avoid the cruciferous vegetables. Examples of this Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts.
Balanced Gut Health. A big topic, but your gut is a huge part of your overall health. Especially a wide variety vegetables and eaten in various forms. Raw, Sautéed, Blanched or Fermented. These feed the good bacteria and helps to keep the gut happy and healthy. Now those of you with gut issues and are having a hard time digesting greens. Have hope to heal your gut and you will be eating more veggies without the bloat. But you must heal the gut. Gut healing is a blog post for another day. But here is some food for thought. Check it out
Improved complexion This is a wonderful side effect of the world of veggies. Your skin becomes brighter and youthful. Tomatoes, Kale, Yellow Pepper and even pumpkin-specifically have major skin benefits. All of these hold large amounts of Antioxidants! Antioxidants are your skin's friend!
On to the buying of Vegetables
This is actually a simple situation. But I think it is one that needs to be highlighted. I am blessed in the Midwest to have an abundance of Farmers Markets in the growing season. The benefits of buying from local are tremendous. The veggies are fresher, contain lower levels of toxins pesticides. Plus we are supporting local business owners. With some of my travels, I have realized that many states and regions of the country do not have Farmers Markets. So you have to shop at your local stores. So here are a couple of tips to get fresher produce.
Check the areas of the store that feature local farms. You might be surprised to find this section, but it is trending now
Go to the produce in the back or bottom of the stand. They put the older produce near the top or front to sell quicker.
Look at your produce. This might seem obvious but don’t just grab and go. Take a look at the health of the leaves, bruising, browning. Be picky its ok.
If at all possible buy organic, as least the dirty dozen. I know that there is some controversy on this topic, but for me, I am trying to reduce the pesticide load for my family.
CSA farms are also a popular choice. Community Supported Agriculture. Small family farms that serve a smaller community. Find out more near you!
Try a produce delivery service. If you are finding it difficult to find good produce and finding time to shop, I recommend giving these services a try. Here are a few companies.
Now you have the veggies, time to store
This is an important step. I have a couple of top tips to make this easy and keep veggies fresh longer!.
I am loving my produce savers from Tupperware. I know there are a couple of other products out there that are highly recommended. XOX line and Rubbermaid. These produce savers truly extend the life of all produce by as much as 50%. All are available on AMAZON!!
When you buy all this amazing produce you want to take the time to prep it. What does that mean? Washing, chopping, and putting in your containers. The benefits of prepping are numerous.
YOU SAVE TIME when you go to make your meal the veggies are ready to go. Need a snack or making a salad for lunch? Boom, ready to grab and make. We all need more time, right?
YOU ACTUALLY EAT THE PRODUCE You all know you buy it and forget it. I even do it. My kids are especially more likely to grab veggies if they are prepped and ready.
YOU SAVE MONEY Wasted produce is money down the drain. You prep it, you use it!
On to cooking the vegetables, my favorite thing!
I am keeping this super simple my friends. I have 3 ways I love to prepare vegetables. Sautee, Roasted and Raw. All of these keep the nutritional value in check. Unlike boiling, which pulls the vitamins out and puts into the water.
Raw is one of the easiest to prepare. As I talked about above, prepping and having them ready made for an easy snack or side for a meal. With the raw, I try to have dips pre-made. Most veggies need to have a fat when consumed. This allows all the vitamins to be absorbed. Example, Raw Carrots, they contain high amounts of Vitamin A which is a fat soluble vitamin. It needs fat to be absorbed. Here is a recipe for a wonderful full fat veggie dip from my website.
Saute is so very simple. Skillet, butter or avocado oil, salt, veggie of choice. Simple. Heat the pan over medium heat. Add butter or oil to the pan. Then veggies. Here is the trick. Do not over cook my friends. How do you know when they are done? Simple. When they (the veggies) start to brighten in color. So the broccoli will turn bright green or the carrots deepen the orange. I just sauté to a light crunch or greens I cook till deep green and softened.
Roasted is my favorite The flavor is so different and is a great way to introduce picky kids to cooked veggies and switch things up from the same ole raw produce. You can roast pretty much any and all vegetables. From peppers to kale. Even eggplant or brussel sprouts. So how to roast. Pretty simple.
Preheat oven to 325-350. Chop your vegetable of choice in chunks, not diced. Coat in about a tablespoon or so of avocado oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat then place in a large baking pan. I love my stoneware bar pan. Bake for hour-ish then done! It is done when they are softened and almost toasty looking.
So you are now fully equipped to enjoy the bountiful produce that will come with summer. Give it a try and let me know how Is goes, what you tried that was new and what surprised you. Just find me on Facebook or message me through my website ALLABOUTMYKITCHEN.COM
I love hearing from my Real Food community!
Happy COoking!