Make the most of winter fruits, veggies
If you take a closer look at the produce aisle right now, you’ll find some standout cold-loving options that will surely increase your appetite for winter and also the nutritional value of your diet.
“When in season, fruits and vegetables likely have a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals,” said Jill Nussinow (a.k.a. The Veggie Queen), registered dietitian, culinary educator and cookbook author.
From beets to parsnips, many of these subterranean wonders are now available year-round, but Nussinow said they’re at their best when the local weather turns chilly.
As a bonus, Nussinow noted, seasonal root vegetables can be very budget-friendly and benefit from a long storage life.
Here is the cream of the crop:
Beets: Notable for their sweetness, beets have some of the highest natural sugar levels of any veggie.
They also contain betacyanin, an antioxidant that may help combat certain cancers, as well as nitrate that can improve blood flow to aid in lowering blood pressure numbers.
Try this: Add a splash of color to hummus by blending in 2 medium-sized cooked beets.
Blood orange: Their flavor tends to be sweeter and less tart than typical oranges.
The color of these blood oranges signals not only vitamin C but the increased presence of anthocyanins, potent antioxidants that appear to help lower the risk for cognitive decline.
Try this: Toss together 1 peeled and chopped blood orange, 1 chopped orange bell pepper, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 seeded and minced jalapeno, ¼ cup cilantro, juice of ½ lime and a couple pinches of salt. Use as a salsa for cooked chicken or fish.
Butternut squash: This curvy winter stalwart is jam-packed with beta-carotene, which in greater intake levels has been linked to improved brain functioning.
“Beta-carotene also helps boost your immune system and is good for the eyes and skin,” Nussinow said.
Try this: Add pureed squash to baked goods batter, including muffins and pancakes, to add natural sweetness and moisture.
Brussels sprouts: This veggie is loaded with vitamin K, a nutrient which a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found can lower the risk for certain types of heart disease.
Try this: Shred raw sprouts and use as you would cabbage in slaw recipes.
Fennel: Crisp and crunchy with a pleasant licorice flavor and aroma. All parts including the white bulb, green stalks and wispy dill-like foliage are edible.
Fennel contains appreciable amounts of quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant that may lower the risk for some cancers.
Try this: Toss thinly sliced raw fennel with orange sections, baby spinach, sliced red bell pepper and 1 tablespoon each extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Garnish salad with fennel fronds.
Parsnip: Just one cup of nutty and slightly sweet tasting parsnips packs in a whopping seven grams of fiber — three more grams than carrots.
A recent study in BMJ, a peer-reviewed medical trade journal published by the British Medical Association, determined that people with higher intakes of fiber are at a lower risk of premature death from various diseases, including Type 2 diabetes.
Pear: Nutritionally, pears’ claim to fame is stellar levels of dietary fiber, at 6 grams in a medium fruit. “Most people need to be eating more fiber to promote better gastrointestinal health,” Nussinow noted.
Try this: Blend a pear into a seasonal smoothie with milk, yogurt, almond butter, cinnamon and vanilla.
Rutabaga: The yellow-tinged creamy flesh has a slight sweetness that’s combined with a peppery edge. It supplies good amounts of vitamin C, hunger-fighting fiber, and potassium to keep blood pressure numbers in check.
Try this: Use in pureed soup recipes, or shred raw rutabaga and make it into fritters.
Sunchokes: Sometimes called Jerusalem artichokes, this crunchy tuber is an unexpectedly good source of energy-boosting iron and is also well-endowed with the soluble fiber inulin. “This feeds the good bacteria in your gut which can improve your immune system,” Nussinow said.
Try this: For a much healthier take on French fries, slice sunchokes into matchsticks (no need to peel them), toss with oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 350° F for roughly 15 minutes.
Try this: Cube and add to potato mixtures and hash recipes.
Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC, 1-800-829-5384, www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.
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