[blindweightwatcher] fw new veggies, A through H
- From: "Jan Bailey" <jb021951@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindweightwatcher@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:35:08 -0600
Dear Friends,
The other day Leanne gave us a fabulous recipe for a Smoothie that
included spinach as a way to add more greens into our diets (if you
missed this, it is included at the bottom of this message. We then
received a really neat testimonial from a member that told us of a new
habit that she has formed for herself. She tried one new vegetable
and one new fruit each week. Something that she has never tried
before and looks forward to what new adventures she can find in the
produce department. I thought this was such an amazing way to learn
and try new things without being overly expensive. I asked Leanne,
from
www.SavingDinner.Com
if she would write about some of the newer
or often ignored vegetables that are available and here it is:
*******
Dear Friends,
Have you noticed your produce department doesn't look the same as it
did, say, 10 years ago? There is a new game in town with new stuff
hitting the shelves daily. We all know what broccoli, green beans and
lettuce look like, but what about some of the more obscure vegetables?
Let's make a list of some little known veggies you may have seen
lurking in your produce department that you know nothing about. We'll
start with A and end in Z. Here is A thru H
Take arugula for example. Arugula is a wonderful salad green that has
a distinctly peppery taste, sort of radishy-like. That's because it's
related to radishes, actually. At only 20 calories for 3 cups, this
nutrient-rich green is wonderful mixed into your lettuce for a salad
with a lot more flavor.
Bok Choy is a Chinese cabbage that looks like the celery and cabbage
decided to have a baby together, LOL. I find baby bok choy to be a
little tastier. The leaves on bok choy taste more like cabbage while
the stalks are much milder. You can add bok choy to your stir fry to
boost your intake of beta carotene, vitamin C and iron.
Collard greens. A traditional Southern green (along with turnip
greens, creasy greens, etc.) these huge cabbage-like leaves have a
very distinct flavor and do well to be handled like kale; tough stems
removed, chopped, steamed, then sautéed in olive oil and garlic.
Collards, like all greens, are high in folate, vitamin C, beta
carotene and calcium.
Delicata. Delicata is a thin-skinned winter squash with a yellowish
skin. This oblong squash lives up to its name with a sweet, delicate
flavor. Another nutrient rich veggie, you're going to get lots of
fiber, vitamins A & C, as well as potassium and thiamine! Yum!
Escarole. If you're not careful, you could mistake escarole for a head
of green leaf lettuce. Escarole is mild in flavor and is delicious
sautéed in olive oil, garlic and sprinkling of pine nuts. Another
nutrient rich veggie, it's high in fiber, too.
Fennel. Do you like licorice? If so, you will love fennel! The huge
bulb and dill-looking leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. I love it
sautéed in olive oil till caramelized and topped on my fish. The
flavor is terrific; a lot of bang for your buck!
Ginger. Nothing beats fresh ginger. It's weird looking-I've often said
it looks like an alien root-mass of sorts. But the very thin skin
doesn't even need to be peeled! Just wash it well, grate it like you
would cheese and then add it to your stir fries. You will never go
back to dried ginger again. I store mine in a freezer quality ziplock
bag in the freezer. It works. Ginger is good for an upset stomach too.
Haricot Verts. These are, essentially, green beans (if you took French
1, you'll remember this as a vocabulary word, lol). They aren't just
any green beans though. Traditionally, haricot verts are beautiful,
skinny, luscious green beans that require no string removal, no
steaming, just a quick sauté in your skillet with a generous portion
of garlic, a little butter and olive oil and some salt and pepper to
finish. Honestly, these green beans are simply delicious!
That's all for now. Stay tuned, we've got more veggies coming your way!
Love,
Leanne
***********
If you enjoyed this and would like to know more about Leanne, go visit
her website:
www.SavingDinner.com
Leanne's passion in life is to
bring us back to the dinner table and keep us out of the drive thrus!
*******
If you missed the article with the Smoothie recipe here it is:
Dear Friends,
Lately I've been thinking about my Peas on Earth essay and how I am
bound and determined to get more green into my daily food intake. A
lot of you have joined me and I have seen so many great ideas. Some of
these ideas are mine, some are yours; thought I'd share them with you:
1-Greens for Breakfast: This morning I put a handful of frozen organic
spinach in my smoothie. Guess what? Didn't even know it was there!
Recipe (of sorts) is below.
2-Greens for Lunch. I have leftovers from last night (stir fry beef
and veggies) that I plan on adding some more frozen organic spinach
to. Yeah, heavy on the spinach, but I will be trying other things too,
I promise. Just all about the spinach today!
3-Extra Greens for Dinner. I haven't paid enough attention to my
beloved kale lately. When I make kale, I take out the tough stalks,
cut into pieces, steam it till bright green, then sauté it lightly in
a little olive oil and garlic, a little sea salt and a fresh grinding
of pepper.it's so good like that. I also add it to soups, stews and
stir fries. It's a great way to get in a little extra green. You do
the same with Swiss chard, collards and other dark leafy greens.
One of the hardest parts of eating healthy is making sure you get
enough veggies in your life. The holidays can really throw us off
track, but a Peas on Earth awareness can really help to get the green
back in!
Try some of these ideas this week with me. Here's the recipe for my
new "green" smoothie:
Makes 2 big smoothies
1 banana, frozen
a handful of frozen (organic if you can) berries, your choice (about
1/3 cup)
1/2 cup frozen organic spinach (a big handful)
2 scoops protein powder (I use a vanilla whey protein powder)
1/2 cup Fage yogurt (I use the nonfat. Fage is creamy and WONDERFUL)
1/2 cup orange juice
*water, as needed
*if you like it sweeter, add one packet Z Sweet (this is a sugar
alcohol that is safe!)
Put everything in a blender (I have a 450 watt blender that works
great!) and LET HER RIP!
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