Healthy Tips
Carrots
This sweet, crunchy root contains more carotenoids, the antioxidants that give carrots their yellow-orange pigment, than any other veggie. That’s why they are so good for you! Carotenoids may protect against certain types of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts. What’s more, beta-carotene is converted by the body into vitamin A, essential for healthy skin and a strong immune system. Other virtues of carrots: soluble fiber, vitamin C, and bone strengthening calcium.
Buy & Store: Choose firm, deep orange carrots without splits or cracks. If the leafy tops are attached, they should be bright green. Trim them down immediately to one inch; otherwise the roots will go limp and lose nutrients more quickly. Compost or discard the greens, or toss them into a salad (they taste a bit like parsley). Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, carrots without their tops will stay fresh for about two weeks.
Preparation Tip: Since beta-carotene is fat soluble, combining carrots with a little healthy fat-for instance, tossing them into a salad with a vinaigrette-will help your body absorb the antioxidant more fully. If you’re cooking carrots, try steaming them: put carrots in a basket or colander, cover, over simmering water until crisp-tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Just be sure not to reduce them to mush-overcooking carrots can destroy all that precious beta-carotene.
Kale
These low calorie greens provide an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, and C, along with a decent amount of fiber, iron, and calcium. In fact, kale is one of the healthiest greens you can eat: our bodies can better absorb the calcium in kale than in spinach, as it leaves contain less oxalic acid, a substance that can disrupt the nutrient’s absorption. Kale contains more vitamin K-essential for proper blood clotting-than broccoli, spinach, and Swiss chard. Perhaps most impressive, this versatile green contains especially high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, two powerful phytochemicals that may help safeguard the eyes from conditions such as macular degeneration and cataracts.
Buy & Store: Look for dark, crisp leaves free of blemishes or yellow spots. Avoid bunches that appear to be wilted or limp. Kale stored loosely in a tightly sealed container should stay fresh two to three days in the refrigerator.
Preparation Tip: Strip the leaves of extra thick or woody stems with a paring knife. For easy cutting, stack the leaves, roll them, and cut crosswise into thin ribbons. Braising or sautéing kale in olive oil works well, but don’t boil it; you’ll lose some vital nutrients.
This sweet, crunchy root contains more carotenoids, the antioxidants that give carrots their yellow-orange pigment, than any other veggie. That’s why they are so good for you! Carotenoids may protect against certain types of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts. What’s more, beta-carotene is converted by the body into vitamin A, essential for healthy skin and a strong immune system. Other virtues of carrots: soluble fiber, vitamin C, and bone strengthening calcium.
Buy & Store: Choose firm, deep orange carrots without splits or cracks. If the leafy tops are attached, they should be bright green. Trim them down immediately to one inch; otherwise the roots will go limp and lose nutrients more quickly. Compost or discard the greens, or toss them into a salad (they taste a bit like parsley). Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, carrots without their tops will stay fresh for about two weeks.
Preparation Tip: Since beta-carotene is fat soluble, combining carrots with a little healthy fat-for instance, tossing them into a salad with a vinaigrette-will help your body absorb the antioxidant more fully. If you’re cooking carrots, try steaming them: put carrots in a basket or colander, cover, over simmering water until crisp-tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Just be sure not to reduce them to mush-overcooking carrots can destroy all that precious beta-carotene.
Kale
These low calorie greens provide an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, and C, along with a decent amount of fiber, iron, and calcium. In fact, kale is one of the healthiest greens you can eat: our bodies can better absorb the calcium in kale than in spinach, as it leaves contain less oxalic acid, a substance that can disrupt the nutrient’s absorption. Kale contains more vitamin K-essential for proper blood clotting-than broccoli, spinach, and Swiss chard. Perhaps most impressive, this versatile green contains especially high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, two powerful phytochemicals that may help safeguard the eyes from conditions such as macular degeneration and cataracts.
Buy & Store: Look for dark, crisp leaves free of blemishes or yellow spots. Avoid bunches that appear to be wilted or limp. Kale stored loosely in a tightly sealed container should stay fresh two to three days in the refrigerator.
Preparation Tip: Strip the leaves of extra thick or woody stems with a paring knife. For easy cutting, stack the leaves, roll them, and cut crosswise into thin ribbons. Braising or sautéing kale in olive oil works well, but don’t boil it; you’ll lose some vital nutrients.
Sweet Potatoes
More colorful-and better for you-than a regular old spud, this root vegetable comes in a variety of hues, from yellow to dark orange to reddish purple. When cooked, an enzyme in the sweet potato breaks down the tuber’s starch and turns it into maltose, creating an appealingly sweet flavor. Like carrots, brightly colored sweet potatoes are packed with beta carotene-so they may be good for vision, help prevent some kinds of cancer, and boost immunity. Low in calories and high in fiber, sweet potatoes are also great for weight loss or maintenance. And as if all that weren’t good enough, they deliver folate and vitamins B6, C, and E.
Buy & Store: Look for small or medium sweet potatoes that feel firm and heavy, with smooth, unblemished skin and no sprouts. In ideal conditions-perfectly dry, cool, and dark-sweet potatoes will keep for up to four weeks. Don’t refrigerate them; at temperatures below 50 degrees they can develop a condition called hardcore that causes their centers to stay solid even after cooking.
Preparation Tip: You can bake and roast them, of course, but to mix it up a little, try sticking them on the grill. Slice the tuber lengthwise about 1/3 inch thick. Brush all over with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat until browned and tender, about 2 minutes per side.
Winter Squash
These robust, versatile gourds come in all kinds of quirky shapes, colors, and textures, from striped carnival squash to elongated butternut. Winter squash get their incredible antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties from beta-carotene and high levels of vitamin C. They also provide significant amounts of potassium (good for bone health), vitamin B6 (essential for the immune and nervous systems), and plenty of fiber, making them an especially heart friendly choice. Folate adds yet another boost to their heart healthy reputation.
Buy & Store: Look for squash that are firm, free of mold, and heavy. Squash can keep for several months in a cool, dark place.
Preparation Tip: Place a halved squash, cut side down, on an oiled baking sheet and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until you can pierce it with a sharp knife. Or you can remove the skin using a peeler and cut the flesh into chunks for roasting, steaming, or sautéing. Once cooked, mash the squash, puree it for soup, or fold it into pasta or risotto.
