After the rich foods and heavy drinking over the holidays, many of us are looking for how to eat clean and get back on the healthy track. There’s no better time than now to cut out the processed foods and add these five seasonal vegetables to your grocery list.
Cabbage
If you haven’t touched cabbage since Mom forced Brussels sprouts on you as a little kid, it’s time to give it another try. This hearty, low-fat and low-calorie green boasts antioxidants such as lutein and thiocyanates, which can help lower cholesterol. Besides being high in vitamins C, B5 and B6, it’s also high in vitamin K, which will help build strong bones. Here are three yummy cabbage recipes to get you started.
Beets
These deep red root vegetables will feed you visually (through their vibrant colour) as well as provide 1.8 grams of fibre, 274 mg of potassium and 72 micrograms of folate in a half-cup of this root vegetable boiled. Note: the tops or greens of the beet can also be eaten and are very nutritious as well. This beet salad recipe is a cinch to prepare but doesn’t lack one bit in tastiness.
Parsnips
This root vegetable often seems to get overlooked – with carrots and potatoes winning in terms of popularity – but it’s worth having another look at. Parsnips are higher in potassium than carrots and are an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper, and manganese. This glazed carrots and parsnips recipe takes only 10 minutes to prepare, making it a great side dish to add to your repertoire for busy weeknights.
Garlic
Most of us think of this as merely something that adds flavouring to our pasta sauces and meat dishes, but this herb plant boasts phytonutrients that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. A good source of selenium and manganese, garlic shouldn’t be shied away from for causing bad breath. In fact, roasting the cloves mellows out the flavour and odour (try it atop pizzas or spread the softened cloves onto some bread).
Kale
A favourite of health nuts, this delicious, dark leafy green deserves its accolades. It’s very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C and lutein and has been shown to be helpful in lowering cholesterol and reducing cancer risk. Kale also provides about a tenth of RDA of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Not sure how to cook this vegetable? Here are five simple kale recipes.
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