Download Culinary Weekly Message: Eat Your Vegetables

Culinary Weekly Message:
Eat Your Vegetables
Message
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Eat your Vegetables…More bang for your buck! The nutritional and financial benefits of adding
more vegetables to your diet.
Goal
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To introduce guest and employees to different vegetables and getting everyone to eat more
vegetables
March 25
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COLORS…ALL THE PRETTY COLORS
Only 26% of us are eating enough vegetables.
Try finding something from each color next time you are shopping, cooking or eating.
The Rainbow Diet – not a diet at all but a concept of eating to achieve ideal nutritional intake.
Eat a rainbow every day. Choose vegetables (and fruits) of every color in the rainbow. Yellow,
orange, red, green, purple and blue.
Steaming is the best cooking method for vegetables. This method protects the vegetables from
nutrient loss. Roasting and stir-frying are other healthy cooking alternatives for vegetables.
Vegetables are full of phytochemicals the natural plant compounds that produce the bright
color and provide a variety of health benefits. Known phytochemicals have a broad range of
protective benefits.
Eating large amounts of colorful vegetables that are high in phytochemicals may decrease the
risk of developing diabetes, decrease the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and may
protect from some cancers.
Vegetables (naturally colored) along with a diet of whole grains/cereals and beans can provide
a powerful health benefit. For optimum health, create a colorful plate with these naturally
beautiful hues.
What colors are available on the menu today?
March 26
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Monday
Tuesday
ORANGE
Orange vegetables include sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash
and Hubbard squash.
When choosing sweet potatoes, look for a deep orange color. Deeper colors contain the most
beneficial vitamins.
Try substituting sweet potatoes for your potato salad or fries. Remember to bake the sweet
potato fries for optimum health.
Carrots an orange root vegetable that can be enjoyed raw or in soups, side dishes, stew or even
as a juice.
Pureed pumpkin can be used in place of part of the fat in a cookie or sweet bread recipe.
If you can’t find fresh orange vegetables in season, frozen is the next best option.
Orange foods help maintain a healthy heart, immune system and night-vision health.
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Their color comes from carotenoids, which get converted by the body into vitamin A, may help
protect against cancer, age-related macular degeneration.
March 27
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Wednesday
RED
Tomatoes, red peppers, beets and other naturally red foods will help maintain a healthy heart,
memory function, and urinary tract health.
Tomatoes are the most well-known vegetable but did you know they have no cholesterol and
very little sodium.
Red onions have been a food source since prehistoric times. When properly stored they will
stay fresh for about four weeks.
Red beets an edible root vegetable. Choose red beets that are not gnarled or brown in
appearance. This indicates that they are older, older beets become bitter when they are
cooked. They can be enjoyed raw, roasted, in salads, as a side dish and even in desserts.
Radishes are known to be tossed raw in salads. Their tastes along with red cabbage can be best
when braised over a slow heat.
Radicchio, a red type of chicory, is common in salads but can be sautéed in vegetable recipes.
Did you know that rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable? However in the U.S., a New York
court in 1947 ruled that it was to be counted as a fruit. This was for the purpose of regulation
and duties.
The red color of these vegetables comes from lycopene, and may help reduce risk of cancer,
they also contain, anthrocynains, powerful antioxidants that protect the cells from free radical
damage.
March 28
Thursday
GREEN
Green vegetables are the most extensive list. How many can you name? Asparagus, broccoli,
broccolini, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, cabbage, green beans, artichokes, celery, Napa
cabbage, broccoli rabe, zucchini, jalapenos, peas, kohlrabi…. Try including at least one green
vegetable in your meal.
• Watercress, a leafy green vegetable with a peppery flavor is great for salads or sandwich
topper. Other unique leafy greens that make a great salad or sandwich addition include;
arugula, endive, and escarole.
• Some leafy greens which flavors are best when cooked include; Swiss chard, kale, bok choy,
collards, mustard, beet and turnip greens.
• Substitute a leafy green vegetable such as a romaine lettuce leaf for a tortilla shell.
• Green vegetables like spinach, broccoli, and green peppers help prevent macular degeneration
and cataracts.
• Their color comes from chlorophyll. Some dark greens are a good source of lutein that works
with zeaxanthin found in other colored produce to support eye health, while others contain
indoles which may help protect against certain types of cancer.
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March 29
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Friday
PURPLE
A few purple vegetables include eggplant, radicchio, asparagus, cabbage, potatoes and peppers.
Eggplant part of the potato and nightshade plant species can be used as a protein substitute.
The eggplant’s flesh rapidly discolors and should be cut just before using.
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Potatoes can be found with a dark-purple outer skin and light purple flesh. Try roasting them
with a little olive oil and garlic.
Purple bell peppers have a delicate sweet flavor. They make a tasty and eye catching addition
to a salad.
Kale can also be found in the purple variety. Use this vegetable as you would a cabbage or
spinach.
Another green vegetable found in the purple variety is asparagus. Asparagus should be used
within 3 to 4 days of purchase
Blue/purple foods such as purple cabbage, purple carrots, purple asparagus and others help
maintain healthy aging, memory and urinary track health.
Their dark color comes from anthocyanains, powerful antioxidant that may help reduce the
risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease.