My mom's in town this week and many times when I have an extra set of hands to help with the kids I use that time to experiment a bit in the kitchen. And this weekend is all about vegetables. I am need of variety, big time. I also am trying to decrease the amount of meat and grains I eat and in order to do this I need to start stacking my plate up with veggies. And not just lettuce and carrots, but real nutrient dense vegetables that can satisfy me.
For a person who prides herself on healthy eating, I am the first to admit that there are many foods out there that I have never tried, or given a real effort to cook myself. So I took out my Nourishing Traditions book and am tackling some new foods over the next few days:
Cabbage
Artichokes
Beets
Parsnips
Turnips
Rutabagas
The root vegetables (parsnips, turnips, rutabagas) are about to go out of season. They are fall and winter vegetables and the temperatures are starting to rise here in Charlotte (finally!) so I wanted to take advantage of them before spring officially arrived. I will just slow-roast them with some seasonings. I'll also probably add acorn squash and sweet potatoes to the mix to help with the bitterness associated with these foods. I have cooked them before, but I can count the number of times on one hand...more like two fingers.
Cabbage is available year round and it's in the grocery stores a lot with St. Patrick's Day right around the corner. I know cooked cabbage is a staple Irish meal, but I've never really eaten it. The odds are stacked against me since both my mom and the Hubs admitted they do not like cabbage when I announced during dinner last night that some new dishes would be coming their way. Let's hope Sally Fallon's "cabbage with oranges" dish helps their tastebuds choke it down tonight!
Beets are ridiculously good for you. Ever since I started down this path a few years ago I have seen the word "beets" and the phrase "regular part of your diet" pop up countless times. It is chock full of nutrients (in particular, magnesium, which is something I feel both myself and the Hubs are lacking). But I have yet to cook them. So I'll be oven-roasting the beets and wilting their greens tomorrow night.
Artichokes have always intimidated me. I know they are good for you, but I try to avoid canned foods due to the scary BPA lining and it seems they always popped up in the canned version in recipes. The most common place I see them are in a low-quality spinach artichoke dip at chain restaurants. I'm no stranger to these, the Hubs and I used to order this every single time we went out to eat before I started changing my diet. Even after I stopped getting it, he used to get it and eat the whole thing himself! But those days are gone. Hopefully his clear arteries and sharp mind will thank me when he's in his 70s. Anyway, back to artichokes. They just look difficult to cook (like I said before, I fall prey to the "cooking is so difficult!" mentality as well). And I have no idea what a freshly cooked artichoke even tastes like. I bought two at Whole Foods and I'm going to try this slow-cooker recipe I found. You stuff the artichoke with sausage, cauliflower, mushrooms and green onions. Not really avoiding meat by doing this, but I have a feeling I may need to transition to this taste slowly.
So that's what's on the table for this weekend. I chose Sally Fallon's book for most of these recipes because she really does believe in letting the food shine on its own. Just cook, season with spice, and add some fat (either in butter or coconut oil). I'll be thrilled if we can at least choke down three out of the four. My gut is telling me these may not go as planned. Vegetables can be a little tricky and it may take a few tries to get the seasonings and cook times correct.
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