Whole Foods Nutrition

When it comes to vegetables, it’s hard to top kale’s nutritional value. Kale is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin C and vitamin A. It is also a great source of the antioxidant lutein, which is thought to promote healthy eyes and lower the risk of macular degeneration.

Kale is green in more ways than one. Eating dark greens this time of year is an environmentally friendly choice as local gardens are overflowing and so is the Farmer’s Market. Reduce your food miles by buying your greens at the market or other businesses that make it a priority to support our local growers. Get them soon as this heat wave will soon bring an end to their season.

If you are not sure what to do with Kale, you are not alone! Kale varies a lot in texture from tender to tough. Small amounts of Kale are great finely chopped and added to a salad or a rice bowl. I like to make a recipe similar to Whitewater Cooks Glory Bowl and place the rice on top of finely chopped kale. The Kale adds a little crunch, a little flavour and good nutrients.

At this time of year, Kale plants tend to be mature and a little tougher. Try the leaves steamed, sautéed or simmered. Remove the tough stems, tear or chop the leaves into pieces and steam until bright green and tender (approximately ten minutes). Add your favourite dressing to flavour and serve as a side dish. Try it sautéed with garlic and onions and topped with lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt.

Need a good nutrition boost to keep you energized during these drab days? Go get yourself some sprouts. Pile them into your favorite sandwich or on top of a salad, these little nutrient powerhouses are available locally year-round, are fresh and delicious and are brimming with nutrients.

Sprouts are seeds that have been soaked and rinsed a number of times until they germinate, or sprout. Some sprouts are eaten as soon as they germinate and others are best once they have grown a little plant.

Gone are the days of boring old alfalfa. If you haven’t ventured into the world of sprouts lately, brace yourself, because variety is the word of the day.  The most common sprouts are still alfalfa and mung bean sprouts, but all kinds of other sprout mixes are available, from delicate clover sprouts, to spicy onion sprouts, to large sunflower sprouts, to dense and crunchy lentil and mixed bean varieties.   

Sprouts pack a nutrient punch like nothing else. All kinds of metabolic processes happen in a seed as it begins to grow. The metabolically active seed is usually much higher in nutrients that its latent counterpart. Sprouts typically are rich in bioavailable vitamins, minerals,amino acids, proteins and of course, the much revered health promoting phytochemicals.

You can grow your own sprouts or you can buy locally grown sprouts. We are lucky to have local sprouts available all year here in the Kootenays. All you need to grow your own is a good clean jar, a small piece of cheesecloth, an elastic band, clean fresh water and some sprouting seeds. Buy seeds specifically for sprouting, and they will come complete with instructions.  Growing your own sprouts is extremely economical and can be a lot of fun.

Be aware that sprouts have, on very rare occasion, harbored harmful bacteria such as salmonella. For this reason, Health Canada does not recommend that young children, seniors, or people who are immune compromised, eat raw sprouts. For more information about the risks, visit http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/sprouts-germes-eng.php

It’s that time of year when I wonder why there are not hundreds of websites and blogs dedicated to creative ways to use zucchinis. Most folks with gardens have probably been eating zucchinis for over a month now and the novelty has well worn off.

Before you swear of f zucchini altogether, consider its nutritional benefits. Like most veggies, zucchini is low in calories containing  around 30 calories for each cup diced.  It is also a source of dietary fiber and a number of vitamins including A,C,K, folate, and magnesium.

If your productive plants are more than you can keep up with, harvest some of the flowers. The male flowers tend to grow the highest on the plant and the female flowers closest to the earth. Because the female flowers are the ones that produce the fruit, limiting your harvest to the flowers highest up on the plant should ensure that you will still have some zucchinis to eat later in the season. Dice the flowers up and add them to salads or incorporate them into any cooked vegetable based dish. You can sautee them lightly in olive oil and garlic and enjoy them on their own as a side dish as well. Edible flowers make an unusual accompaniment to any meal and add a great splash of colour to a meal.

Zucchinis tend to get tougher as they get bigger, so use your baseball bat sized zucchinis for baking. Make some zucchini muffins or a loaf and freeze the extras in single portions, ready to pop into a lunch bag. If you simply don’t have the time, or just can’t bear to look at another zucchini, grate or dice zucchini and freeze it in one cup potions. 

There are a couple of great zucchini recipes in the recipe archives.

It’s time to stock up on luscious nutritious Kootenay fruit so that you can fuel up on it all winter long.  Fruit is a major source of vitamins A and C, potassium, fibre and antioxidants, all of which can play a role in preventing or treating type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Fruit is relatively low in calories and packs a terrific nutritional punch.

Take advantage of our local bounty and freeze, dry or can some fruit for the winter. When fruit is picked ripe straight from the source, it is at its nutritional peak.  Right now blueberries, huckleberries and raspberries are ripe and ready for picking and cost a fraction of what they will in the winter. Berries are some of the most nutritious fruit, packing a heavy antioxidant load, and they freeze well. Freezing fruit preserves the nutrients more effectively than canning or drying. 

If you have too much fruit to pick, call the Nelson Foodcupboard. Their Harvest Rescue program sends volunteers out to pick your fruit, leaving some of it with you, and redistributing some of it to community members who don’t have enough to eat. Contact Harvest Rescue at 551-8343 (551-VEGE).

For more information about Harvest Rescue, visit the Nelson Foodcupboard Society Website at  http://www.foodcupboard.org/

Lots of Kootenay gardens are bursting with strawberries right now. Slice them into salads, eat them on top of cereal, add them to your yogurt or your smoothie. What ever you do, don’t deprive yourself.  Strawberries are nutrient powerhouses that just happen to be naturally declicious. Here are some reasons why you should enjoy strawberries with abandon.

They are a good source of vitamins: Strawberries are one of nature’s best sources of vitamin C, the antioxidant vitamin that supports a healthy immune system, shortens the duration of colds and flu and helps your body use iron.  Strawberries also deliver a healthy dose of manganese, iodine, potassium and B vitamins.

They are low in calories: Do you think that everything that tastes good is high in calories? Think again. Strawberries are deceptively low in calories. 10 strawberries contain only 36 calories.

They are a good source of fibre: Strawberries have between three and four grams of fiber in a cup.

They contain protective plant ingredients: Strawberries contain quercetin, ellagic acid, anthocyanins and kaempferol which are powerful phytonutrients that may help protect your from heart disease and cancer.

A fun way for kids and adults alike to enjoy strawberries on a hot summer day is in strawberry frozen yogurt pops. Check the recipe archives for the recipe.

 Asparagus is one of the first vegetables to appear in the spring and it is arriving daily, green and crisp from just across the mountains in Creston. Creston is one of the key asparagus growing areas in BC. Let’s keep it that way by supporting our local asparagus farmers and enjoying this elegant green vegetable. 

Big agri-business in other countries is threatening our local asparagus market. Cheap foreign inputs and labour can make imported asparagus more affordable than our local asparagus.  Before you buy your asparagus, check where it comes from. Buying local asparagus not only keeps your food dollar in British Columbia, it supports a local farm family.  Buying local also lessens the environmental impact. Transporting food contributes significantly to green house gases. 

Nutrition. Asparagus is a great source of bone strengthening Vitamin K as well as folate, vitamin C and A and B vitamins. It is also loaded with fibre and a whole cup has only 43 calories so eat up.

Growing your own. Asparagus is a perennial vegetable, coming back year after year. It needs a really sunny location with well-drained, slightly alkaline soil.  You can start asparagus from seed but it takes 3 years before it produces asparagus spears. You can save a couple of years by planting asparagus roots. Once established, your asparagus patch will provide you with asparagus every spring for 15 to 20 years.

For a great asparagus recipe, check out the recipe archives.

Fun, Flavourful, Fennel

Next time you go shopping, add fennel to your cart. This bulbous white and green vegetable with celery-like stems has a subtle licorice flavour that goes well with many foods.  

Fennel is a member of the parsley family.  Choose small, heavy, white bulbs that are firm and free of cracks or browning. The stalks should be crisp, with feathery green fronds.

Nutritional Value: Fennel  is rich in vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus and potassium.

Cooking:  Fennel stalks and greens add unique flavour to a spring salad and the stalks have a great crunch.  You can chop up the greens and use them as you would herbs. The licorice flavour mellows with cooking making grilled, sauteed, or roasted fennel a nice side dish to fish or meat.

 Visit the recipes archive for a fennel salad recipe