Green Options » root vegetables

Alkaline Eating for Better Body Chemistry, PH Levels, and Overall Health

Lucille Chi — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:43:11 +0000

Going to a body and nutrition expert with my husband is one of the best things we’ve done for ourselves. What was the key take away? Warning! Turn Alkaline!

Turn Alkaline? Are we magicians? Well according to biochemists we are! You can change your body chemistry with what you eat!

Chemicals have seeped into foods, air, and water, which in turn lower our system’s ability to control the chemistry of our body fluids, increasing illness and chronic disease.

The sad fact is that most food consumption in the wealthiest nations has shifted from nutritious raw foods to low nutritional value processed foods and we need to shift it back. Now that our total biological terrain is at risk, we urgently need to do some clean up by shifting our body chemistry back to the raw, organic foods it was designed to function on as we’ve evolved.

Below I’ve listed out a quick list of the good foods (alkaline) to treat your body to often…

Read more of this story »

Meatless Mondays: Healing Benefits of Root Vegetables-Vegan Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Root Vegetable Recipe Included

Rachel Venokur-Clark — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:22:18 +0000

With autumn upon us, our seasonal menu has already begun to change. At farmers markets in most areas of the country you can see the abundance of the Fall season. Hearty root vegetables are everywhere and can offer your body an array of healing benefits as prepare for the winter months ahead. The roots of any plant are its foundation; roots support and nourish the plant. Root vegetables offer you these same properties, making you feel grounded both emotionally and physically and increasing your stamina and endurance. Roots are a source of nutritious complex carbohydrates, providing long lasting energy and helping to regulate your blood sugar levels. Root vegetables also help us to absorb and assimilate the nutrients we eat, just as they absorb and assimilate vital nutrients for plants.

Long roots include carrots, parsnips, burdock and daikon radish. Some of these are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body and increase mental clarity. Round roots include turnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas. Round roots are nourishing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and can help regulate blood sugar, moods, and alleviate cravings.

Read more for a delicious Meatless Monday Vegan Roasted Root Vegetable recipe.

Read more of this story »

Meatless Mondays: Carrot Potato Pancakes and Crispy Veggie Fritters

Mei Li — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:08:32 +0000

Carrots straight from the farm are dirty little freaks. Knobbly, hairy, misshapen and covered in soil, these root vegetables bear no resemblance to the neon orange and uniformly shaped clones found in your average supermarket plastic bag. But I love knowing where the vegetables came from and supporting local farms through my veg bag of organic produce (British equivalent of a CSA). I enjoy confronting an array of unfamiliar vegetables or familiar vegetables in unfamiliar guises like a large green ball of cauliflower that’s nearly 90% leaves. My favorite new game is figuring out how to use all these vegetables in delicious vegetarian dishes.

However, I’ve been having a bit of trouble with the carrots as they’ve always been lower down on my list of favorite vegetables. Once the more perishable items like the spinach and tomatoes have been eaten in fresh salads, I find myself with a big bowl full of dirty carrots and potatoes. It’s like getting to the harder advanced levels of the How-To-Cook-Up-Your-Veg-Bag game and I need to challenge myself to solve the cooking puzzle. So I’ve written up two simple recipes that explore the wonderful world of carrots and potatoes: a Carrot Potato Pancake and Crispy Veggie Fritter that’s essentially a vegetarian meatball. Perhaps it should be called a veggieball. Regardless, both recipes are simple and tasty and a great way to use up any root vegetables you’ve got lying around. Enjoy!

Read more of this story »

The Healing Dish: Organic Miso, Ginger and Napa Cabbage Stew

Lucille Chi — Sun, 24 May 2009 17:26:50 +0000

Weeks ago I wrote “The Healing Dish: Shiitake Mushrooms and Organic Baby Bok Choy” and now I have a new healthy meal to share.

The other evening for dinner we enjoyed this soothing organic miso soup stewed with fresh ginger and napa cabbage, carrots and organic sweet potatoes, and delightful enoki mushrooms.

Healing ginger imparts a sweet, tangy, yet delicate flavor that soothes and delights the tummy. Napa cabbage is a nice stew vegetable and enoki mushrooms have a soft texture and delicious mild flavor. Carrots and sliced fresh sweet potatoes (or yams) make this miso very hearty.

Keep reading to learn the recipe and more about the healing powers of this simple dish.

Read more of this story »

Green Diva’s Guide to Delicious Living: Healthy, Colorful Raw Root Veggie Slaw Recipe

Megan McWilliams — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:35:52 +0000

This delicious wintry salad/slaw was concocted by committee - myself, Dorothy Mullen and Cynthia Mutterperl - a couple of Sundays ago. We were all in Dor’s kitchen on a very snowy Sunday for her monthly Suppers dinner. Usually there is a larger group, but Cindy and I were the only silly (and fortunate because we had an awesome dinner!) souls that didn’t stay home because of the weather.

We had a great discussion about blood sugar issues and the benefits of being gluten free. We are all working on eliminating wheat and gluten from our lives. Dor has developed some fascinating curriculum about her work with nutrition and blood sugar among other health concerns. Go to the Suppers website to learn more about what she is up to.

The rest of the meal consisted of delicious jazzed up rice and beans and roasted butternut squash with roasted onions and garlic - yum. But, here’s the recipe for:

Sunday Supper’s January Root Veggie Slaw Recipe

Read more of this story »

Seasonal Foods: 5 Best Winter Vegetables

Jessica Mordo — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:05:08 +0000

Winter veggies usually get short shrift, but there are many reasons to savor them. They add loads of vitamins and nutrients to our diets, do wonders for our immunity, and are wonderfully versatile. Plus, eating seasonally is eating green: as it takes us back to the old days of eating only the freshest available products, it’s a more sustainable eating model and it’s better for reducing our carbon footprints.

Here’s my guide to making the most of these five fabulous winter veggies:

1. Play Squash

I actually look forward to winter just for its squash varieties. Acorn, banana, butternut, spaghetti, delicata, hubbard, sweet dumpling, buttercup, and turban squashes—not to mention pumpkin—add a colorful and sweet accent to your plate. Plus, they are among the healthiest types of complex carbohydrates (the best kind of carbs), with high fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C content. Roast ‘em, mash ‘em, or slow cook ‘em into a heaping bowl of soupy goodness for the perfect warm winter meal.

Read more of this story »