The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life (26 page)

Bringing It Home

Choose mustard greens that are a rich green color, with no yellowing or dry spots. The best way to store them is to wrap the greens in a damp paper towel, then put them into a plastic bag to be stored in the refrigerator. They will keep three to four days, but as with other Brassica, the longer you keep them, the stronger and more bitter the flavor becomes.

Livit Recipe

½ teaspoon salt

2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled

1 pound mustard greens (8 cups), trimmed, washed, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup fat-free buttermilk

Salt and pepper

• Fill a large saucepan with water, add salt, and bring the water to a boil. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook them for about 15 minutes, until they are tender. Lift the potatoes out of the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a medium bowl. (Leave the water boiling on the stove.) Using a potato masher or the back of a large spoon, crush the potatoes and set them aside.

• Put the greens into the boiling water. Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are tender. Drain and set aside.

• Dry the pot, add the oil, and heat it over medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until it is fragrant. Add the cooked greens to the pan and toss them with the garlic. Stir in the crushed potatoes and buttermilk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

•
NOTE
This dish can be prepared up to an hour before serving. Keep it warm over a large pan of barely simmering water.

YIELD
8 servings

NUTRITION ANALYSIS PER SERVING
119 calories, 22 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 2 g fat, 4 g dietary fiber

Benefits

Onions are a very good source of vitamin C and chromium, and they also provide manganese, molybdenum, vitamin B
₆
, folate, potassium, phosphorus, and copper.

Onions, like leeks, garlic, and shallots, are members of the Allium family, a group of plants with a characteristic taste caused by sulfur compounds that also have some powerful benefits for human health. These sulfur compounds are being investigated for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cholesterol-lowering, and cancer-fighting potential. Eating onions and other Allium vegetables regularly is associated with a lowered incidence of several types of cancers. The sulfur compounds are also known to help lower blood pressure and keep plaque from forming in blood vessels, and the B
₆
that they provide helps reduce blood levels of homo-cysteine. Onions do a lot to help preserve cardiovascular health!

The chromium in onions is essential to the proper metabolism of sugar, and people at risk for diabetes may benefit from its glucose-regulating properties.

Another sulfur compound in onions that's come under study more recently may help prevent the absorption of bone, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Tests have suggested that the more pungent the onion, the more phenols and flavonoids it has—and the more likely it is to have a positive effect on your health. Eat the mild, sweet onions, too, but don't avoid the sharp ones. This is a vegetable worth risking the occasional watery eye for!

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
One-half cup of chopped raw onion provides 30 calories, 6.9 g carbohydrate, 0.9 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 1.4 g dietary fiber, 5 mg vitamin C, 15 mcg folic acid, 126 mg potassium, 2 mg sodium, 26 mg phosphorus, 16 mg calcium, and 8 mg magnesium.

Bringing It Home

Onions should be hard, not mushy, and the skins should be crisp and dry. Choose onions that have no hint of sprouting and no bruises. Store them away from heat, light, and moisture. All three are likely to make them start sprouting and turn mushy. Don't store whole onions in the refrigerator; it is too damp an environment for them. Kept cool and dry, onions will last for at least a month.

Don't store potatoes and onions together—they will both spoil!

To keep chopped onion on hand for use in recipes, seal some in plastic zipper bags and keep them in the refrigerator or freezer. Chopped onion will keep in the refrigerator for 30 days or in the freezer for about six months.

Livit Recipe

3 or 4 slices whole wheat
OR
brown-rice bread (3.5 ounces), cut into 1-inch squares

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound white onions, thinly sliced

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces reduced-fat Swiss cheese
OR
low-sodium French Yogurt Cheese, cut into 4 slices

• Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Set the squares of bread on a cookie sheet, and lightly toast them in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Once they are toasted, remove them from the oven, but leave the oven on.

• Lightly oil a large skillet, using a paper towel to spread the oil evenly and absorb the excess. Place the oiled skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions. Cook the onions until they have browned and caramelized, stirring constantly to keep them from sticking or burning. Add the vegetable broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to deglaze, scraping the flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

• Prepare for serving in 4 oven-safe soup bowls: Put 2 spoonfuls of the cooked onions into the bottom of each bowl. Divide the toast squares among the bowls, then add the rest of the soup, distributing broth and onions evenly among the 4 bowls. Top the soup with sliced Swiss cheese. Place the bowls in the oven. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve immediately.

•
NOTE
For a complete meal, serve with a mixed green salad and a whole wheat roll or slice of sprouted grain toast.

•
VARIATION
For more protein, add some white beans to the soup.

YIELD
4 servings

NUTRITION ANALYSIS PER SERVING
234 calories, 28 g carbohydrate, 5.5 g protein, 8.8 g fat, 3.7 g dietary fiber

Benefits

Parsley is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as a good source of iron and folate. If eaten in quantities appropriate for a vegetable rather than a spice, it can provide calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, beta-carotene, and lutein. Parsley will also cleanse both your palate and your breath after a meal!

Parsley contains some interesting chemical compounds that warrant further study: volatile oils, including myristicin, limonene, eugenol, and alpha-thujene, and antioxidant flavonoids, including apiin, apigenin, crisoeriol, and luteolin. The volatile oils have shown potential to prevent the formation of cancerous tumors and may have positive effects on mood and cognition. Parsley has also shown potential for reducing inflammation in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

These complex chemicals have not yet been fully studied, and some are known to have toxic effects when taken in large doses. For example, parsley also contains apiol, a substance that appears to affect the female hormonal system and was at one time used to induce miscarriage of unwanted pregnancies. For this reason, pregnant women should not use parsley seeds or essential oil of parsley in medicinal quantities.

Parsley also contains measurable amounts of oxalates, so over-consumption can cause problems for those with kidney disease, gout, vulvar pain, rheumatoid arthritis, or other conditions that may require a low-oxalate diet.

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
One-half cup of chopped fresh parsley provides 11 calories, 1.9 g carbohydrate, 0.9 g protein, 0.2 g fat, 1 g dietary fiber, 1560 IU vitamin A, 40 mg vitamin C, 46 mcg folic acid, 166 mg potassium, 17 mg sodium, 17 mg phosphorus, 41 mg calcium, 1.86 mg iron, and 15 mg magnesium.

Bringing It Home

Fresh parsley contains more vitamin C and volatile oils than the dried version. Use the dried form for flavoring when you have to, but if the parsley is a featured item on the menu, use fresh. Fresh parsley should have a rich green color; it should be crisp, without yellow or dry-looking leaves. Refrigerate fresh parsley in a plastic bag. A spritz of water before it goes into the refrigerator can help restore parsley that has wilted a bit in transit.

Parsley comes in two varieties: curly, which is familiar as a garnish, and flat-leaf, or Italian, which is more often used as an ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes.

You can dry your own parsley, if you wish. The flat-leaf variety dries better than the curly, and that's what's most often used in cooking. Dry the flat-leaf parsley by
laying it out in a single layer on a couple of thicknesses of clean paper towel. Once it has dried, keep it in an airtight container away from light, heat, and moisture. To preserve curly parsley, you're better off freezing it in a plastic zipper bag than drying it.

Livit Recipe

1 cup water

½ cup bulgur

2 fresh lemons, juice only

1 small clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bunches flat-leaf parsley, rinsed, trimmed, and minced

3 or 4 sprigs fresh mint, rinsed, trimmed, and minced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 small cucumber, peeled and diced

4 scallions, trimmed and sliced into thin rings

• In a small saucepan, bring the water and bulgur to a full boil. Once the water has come to a boil, remove from heat, cover tightly, and let stand for about 25 minutes, until the bulgur is soft and has absorbed all the water. Put the bulgur in a large serving bowl and set it aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

• In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the oil until it is emulsified.

• Add the parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions to the bulgur in the serving bowl. Add the oil dressing to the bulgur and toss gently until the ingredients are distributed evenly.

• Serve at room temperature or chilled. If served chilled, it should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour.

•
NOTE
To mince parsley or mint, put a small handful of the fresh herb into a glass and use kitchen scissors to snip it until it is finely minced.

YIELD
4 servings

NUTRITION ANALYSIS PER SERVING
165 calories, 22 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 8 g fat, 6 g dietary fiber

Benefits

Parsnips are an excellent source of vitamin C, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper, manganese, and fiber. They also provide vitamin E; the B vitamins niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, and B
₆
; and the minerals magnesium and potassium.

Parsnips are lower in calories and provide only about half as much protein and vitamin C as potatoes, but they contain more fiber and folic acid. Although closely related to carrots, they lack beta-carotene and, consequently, the orange color. Parsnips provide more potassium than carrots.

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
One-half cup of boiled parsnips provides 63 calories, 15.2 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 0.2 g fat, 3.1 g dietary fiber, 10 mg vitamin C, 45 mcg folic acid, 286 mg potassium, 8 mg sodium, 54 mg phosphorus, 29 mg calcium, and 23 mg magnesium.

Bringing It Home

Parsnips once played a more prominent role in European cuisine, but that role was largely taken over by potatoes once potatoes were exported from the Americas. Even in colonial America, parsnips were prominently featured in stews and soups. Parsnips can be left in the ground over the winter and harvested as needed, and their taste gets sweeter after a frost—both helpful attributes in the days before refrigeration.

Parsnips look like carrots, but they are often larger and have a pale golden color. Look for parsnips that are straight and firm. If they are rubbery or shriveled, they won't be tasty. Parsnips that are allowed to get very large start to lose their distinctive flavor and may have a woody core, which is flavorless. Parsnips need to be peeled before cooking; if they have gained a woody core, trim it away.

Store parsnips in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag, but don't wash them before storing. They will keep for four to five weeks. You can also freeze them: Wash, trim, and peel the parsnips, then cut them into chunks. Drop the chunks into boiling water and boil for three minutes. Remove them from the pot and cool them under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well, and pack them in plastic zipper bags.

Parsnips are among the tastiest vegetables to roast in the oven. Try mixing parsnips with an equal number of carrots.

Livit Recipes

1 butternut squash (1½ pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick slices

1 tablespoon tahini

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Salt

• Put the squash and parsnips into a large saucepan and add enough water to cover them completely. Bring the water to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until they are soft enough to puree.

• Drain the vegetables, reserving ¼ cup of the water in case you need it when blending.

• In a blender jar, process the squash and parsnips with the tahini and nutmeg. Add salt to taste. Puree until smooth.

YIELD
4 servings

NUTRITION ANALYSIS PER SERVING
171 calories, 38 g carbohydrate, 3.6 g protein, 2.5 g fat, 9.4 g dietary fiber