Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

Archive for the ‘Vegetables’ Category

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Baked, Split, and Broiled Eggplant

Posted by terrepruitt on May 5, 2012

The past two Thursdays have been pretty cold here and since I don’t teach Nia on Thursdays evenings I have been cooking soup.  One Thursday I had it planned so I actually did go to the store after my Nia class on Wednesday to buy the ingredients I needed, but yesterday it was cold so I just decided to use what I had, which was not much.  While I think that a bowl or two of soup can easily be a meal, I like to serve something else with it.  When I looked in my fridge I saw the eggplant I had bought.  Yay!  Perfect.  I saw a recipe on icancookstuff that sounded interesting.  While I do not eat spicy hot food I thought I could use the garlic and the cummin.  But it turns out I don’t have any cummin.  So I decided to use ginger and turmeric.  I have them in powdered form so I got the bottles out of the cupboard and set them on the counter.  Then I put the eggplant in the oven to bake it.Dance Exercies, Nia, Nia Campbell, Campbell Nia, Nia classes in Campbell, evening Nia, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia,

The recipe said to bake it at 200 degrees for 45 minutes.**  I didn’t think I had 45 minute so I put the temperature up to 300 and left it on for 30 minutes.  I didn’t feel that the eggplant was cooked enough so I turned the convection oven on and set the timer for 30 more minutes. I turned it four times because it was getting flat on the pan side.

In the meantime I was cooking my soup.  I only had one bunch of baby bok choy, a bunch of kale, and some broccoli.  I swore I wasn’t going to put broccoli in a soup again, but . . . I didn’t think the rest would make it.  So while I was trying to fake making soup I wasn’t really paying attention to the eggplant.  My soup finished before the eggplant.

By the time I finally thought the eggplant was cooked enough to split I split it.  I was thinking that I would make one half for me and one half for my husband.  I salted it, I put a bit of garlic on it, I put a little bit of parmesan cheese on it.  Then I looked over and I saw the onions I had chopped to put on it.  And the kale.  So I decided to put the onions and kale on one half and hubby and I would just get a half of each half making a whole half.

I put it back in the oven and let it bake for a bit more.  Half way through the end of baking portion I saw the ginger and turmeric on the counter.  Snap!  I forgot to put it on.  So I sprinkled a little turmeric on both halves.  I put the broiler on for about 10 minutes.

Here is the result.

Dance Exercies, Nia, Nia Campbell, Campbell Nia, Nia classes in Campbell, evening Nia, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia,

From the time I thought to cook the eggplant to the time I put it in the oven to finish baking I had thought of three different ways to flavor it.  I had originally thought to use garlic, turmeric, and ginger, then I thought of garlic, onions, and kale, then I thought of garlic, and cheese.  That really is not a big deal the big deal is that I forgot one each time I thought of the new one.  Geez!  What I ended up with was ok.  I think it needed a little bit more flavor.  I will work on that.  I don’t even think I tasted the turmeric.

I like cooking eggplant this way because it is much less time-consuming than turn the slices all the time.  But I think I like the roasted slices better.  But I will continue to experiment with this.  I might try slicing it into three pieces next time.  Although a baked eggplant is not easy to slice.

**It just dawned on me that the 200 degrees was probably Celsius and not Fahrenheit.  So it would actually be about 400 degrees F.  Ha!

I can’t wait to try this again!

What do you think of this way of cooking eggplant?  What would you put on the eggplant?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Colors And Odors Are Brought To You By Phytochemicals

Posted by terrepruitt on April 5, 2012

Phytochemical are the reasons that fruits and veggies have color and smell.  There are 1000 known phytochemicals, with an estimate of over 10,000 different ones potentially able to affect diseases.  These chemical compounds are thought to have a big affect on health but are not considered as essential nutrients.

Some phytochemicals are antioxidants or have antioxidant activity and they have shown that they may reduce the risk of cancer.  They have been proven to have anti-inflammatory effects.  And now many doctors and scientists are starting to acknowledge the link between chronic inflammation in the body and disease.  So — to me — anything that can safely help with inflammation in the body is a good food to eat. 

The Linus Pauling Institute at the Oregon State University has a list of phytochemicals.  Under each type listed there is a further breakdown of names of the specific phytochemical, here are just a few highlights

Carotenoids are found in red, yellow, or orange vegetables and fruits.  As with a lot of nutrients, fat helps with absorption.  So using a little bit of healthy oil can help with availability of the nutrient to the body.
 
Chlorophyll & Chlorophyllin are responsible for the green in veggies.

Curcumin is what gives turmeric its deep yellow color.  Turmeric is considered an anti-inflammatory.

Fiber is a group of different compounds.   Different kinds of dietary fiber include: Lignin, Cellulose, Beta-Glucans, Hemicelluloses, Pectins, Gums, Inulin, and Resistant starch. Research is showing that people with diets high in fiber have less risk of disease.  Fiber helps keeps the body’s digestive system moving things out.

Flavonoids in the case of the phytochemicals are thought to be better helpers in cell-signalling then in antioxidants.  While flavonoids have shown to help with curbing the free radicals, they really seem to shine when it comes to the cell signaling pathways.  They’ve shown themselves to be great at regulating the flow of information in the communication pathways of the cells.  There are different classes of flavanoids, they can be found in red wine, green, white, and black tea, berries, apples, chocolate, citrus fruits, yellow onions, soybeans, legumes, scallions, kale, and broccoli.

Garlic is thought to have antioxidant properties.  Garlic and its Organosulfur Compounds are thought to help fight cardiovascular disease and inflammation in the body.  (And some are now saying that it is inflammation that causes cardiovascular disease.)

Indole-3-Carbinol is found in coniferous vegetables.  These types of veggies are thought to help prevent certain types of cancer.  Some of the veggies that this phytochemical can be found in is cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.

Isothiocyanates is also found in coniferous veggies.  This one can be found in cabbage, broccoli, and kale.

Lignans (phytoestrogens) are found in plants while Lignan precursors are found in plant-based foods.  Eating a variety of seeds, whole grains, and legume along with broccoli, curly kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, green and red sweet peppers, apricots, strawberries, peaches, pears, and nectaries will net you both.  (according to Livestrong)

Phytosterols can be found in unrefined vegetable oils, whole grains, nuts, and legumes and inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol.

Resveratrol was found to increase the lifespan of some living organisms.  It can be found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts, and some berries.

Soy Isoflavones (phytoestrogens) is one of those things that is good for you, but some evidence says that too much is not.  But they are not clear on that or how much “too much” is. 

As with much of our food supply harvesting and processing diminishes the nutrients available to us.  The amount of phytochemicals actually in our fruits and vegetables after commercial harvesting, processing, and cooking is significantly reduced.  Since the nutrients that we actually get from the food we eat seems less than was intended by nature it is a good thing that most fruits and veggies can be eaten in high quantities without adding much fat or many calories to the diet. 

Additional information from wiki states that phytochemicals have been used as drugs for millennia.  The willow tree leaves were used to reduce fevers and later used as aspirin.

There is much research to be done on phytochemicals.  But it is interesting to know that the color and odor causing compound in our fruit and veggies might also protect us or help us combat disease.  Seems like if we eat a large variety in addition to large quantities of fruits and vegetables daily will be get a good amount of phytochemicals.  One thing I like to think about and try to do is “eat the rainbow”.  Sounds silly, but it really is eating all the COLORS in the rainbow.

Do you eat a variety of fruits and veggies?  Do you eat the colors of the rainbow?

Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Leeks Are Awesome

Posted by terrepruitt on February 16, 2012

If you’ve read a few of my “recipes” you have probably figured out one of my go-to meals is ground turkey.  It is so easy to cook with and to make into almost anything, using any flavor.  I cook it with whatever vegetable I have around or new one I want to experiment with.  I usually start by sauteing an onion then I add food accordingly.  I find that most of the time I need to cook at least one of the veggies first.  I feel some vegetables need to be cooked more than turkey, like mushrooms.  But broccoli is one that gets added when the turkey is almost cooked.  My latest veggie to add to my turkey is a leek.  I was in Campbell this weekend signing the studio contract where I am going to have my new evening Nia Class and the city of Campbell has a great farmer’s market.  While I was walking down the aisle I saw leeks and I thought, “I should add that to the turkey.”  So I bought one.  I have never cooked with a leek before.  I was thinking I would saute a little bit of onion then put the leek in then saute it then add the turkey.  But when I chopped up the leek it smelled so onion-y I decided I didn’t need to use an onion.  I mean leeks do belong to the same family as onion and garlic.  After cooking the turkey until it was almost done, I added some broccoli.  When the broccoli was almost done I added a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream cheese with chives.  The leeks have such a great flavor I loved them.  I am going to cook with them more often.

According to WHFoods vegetables in the same family as leeks, such as onions and garlic supply their nutrients better if they sit for about 5 minutes after cutting before cooking.  Furthermore since they all belong to the same family leeks have many of the same health benefits.

Leeks have a lot (over 50% of the daily value) vitamin K.  They also have a large quantity of vitamin A. They contain vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and vitamin B9 (folic acid). They also have a flavanoid shown in research to help protect our blood vessel linings from damage.  Leeks also contain compouds that convert to allicin and this has been shown to help relax blood vessels by producing of nitric oxide (NO).  With all this good stuff they do for our blood vessels it seems logical they will add to cardiovascular health.

Since leeks are so onion-y for me it will be easy to include them in our diet either cooked right into our food to add an additional layer of flavor and nutrition or even chopped and raw.  We can add them to our kale salads or throw them in with our quinoa.  I am definitely going to add them in my soups.  I think the more vegetables I add to our soups the better.

I really was impressed with the flavor that the leeks add to this dish.  I thought they were amazing!

(I took this picture to post to Streamzoo just to show our dinner fixings.  I didn’t know I was going to post about leeks until I tasted them and loved them.  the leeks are the green things chopped up on the right.)

Do you include leeks in your diet?  How?  Do you cook them?  Do you eat them raw?

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Eating Kale – Cooked and Raw

Posted by terrepruitt on February 11, 2012

I have heard about kale chips for I don’t know how long.  I know I have heard about them for a long time.  I had just never gotten around to making them until recently.  After I completey burned beyond salvage, the first batch, I carefully baked the second batch.  I was not impressed.  They were ok, but not something I would actually want to eat enough to make them.  But one of my blog readers, Mike over at Perception is Reality Corner, asked about eating kale raw.  I told him that I had seen information about some nutritional differences between cooked kale and raw kale so that probably means it can be eaten raw.  It is so close to a lettuce (it is considered part of the cabbage family) but it is all the same, right?  I asked him to report back after he had tried it.  He said it was a little bitter, but he liked it.  So on my next trip to the store I bought another bunch of kale.  We have been eating it a lot lately.

With the second batch I bought, I mixed it with a bit of lettuce we had and we ate it in a salad.  It might be bitter raw, but some of the lettuce in the batch was bitter anyway so I couldn’t tell the difference.  I am used to eating lettuce that is bitter so to me it didn’t matter if I was eating bitter lettuce or bitter kale.

dance exercise, Nia teacher, Nia class, Nia dance, Nia workoutAt the store where I have been purchasing the kale it comes in a rather large bunch so I can use a lot and still have a lot left.  My next dish was a bunch of veggies; mushrooms, onions, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and kale mixed with quinoa.  Because I think quinoa lacks any type of flavor and I didn’t add enough flavoring to the water when I cooked it, I threw some feta on top of this dish to add an additional layer of flavor.  The vegetables were packed with flavor, but not enough to withstand the nothingness of the quinoa.

Next kale dish was left over rice that I cooked with some zucchini and chicken.  I put the kale in last because I don’t like it really soggy.  I like for my leafy greens to still have a little form to them when I eat them.  They might not have any crunch left, but they are not just a soggy green mess on my plate.  This dish was really yummy.  I put a little bit of feta on it and some chopped water chestnuts.  It was so good that my husband was happy I didn’t go out to get bread because I sent the leftovers to work with him for his lunch.  I always talk about when I was “on my home from Nia” because I tend to run all my errands when I am on my way home from my Nia class.  So if I don’t have a class I don’t always get out to the store when we need something.  So breadless, my hubby got our leftovers.  He didn’t mind because it was really good.

Since then I taught a Nia class and I went to the store and bought bread and what?  Yes, MORE kale.  So today when I couldn’t think of what to have for lunch I decided to use up some leftover steak in a sandwich.  I made a sandwich that I cooked in my panni press.  I thought to take a picture, but I didn’t because I wasn’t going to post about it but then . . . here I am.  Anyway,  I put cheese, steak, and a pile of kale in the sandwich.  This was not so great.  While the flavor was good–of course, what wouldn’t be good meat and cheese—I didn’t rip up the kale enough so as I bit the sandwich the kale came out in big pieces.  I was not able to bite through it.  So to fix that, next time I will tear up the kale into little pieces.  But using kale on a sandwich just like lettuce worked.

Then tonight – and this is why I decided to blog about cooking with kale - I added kale to our meal again.  This time I used mushrooms and pasta instead of zucchini and rice.  And it was just as good.  I cook the base vegetable first, the one I want to cook the longest, in this case the mushrooms, then I add the chicken (it was already cooked so I was just warming it), then I rip the washed kale into pieces and toss it in the pan.  I even turn the heat off at this point.

So that is how I am adding another green to my diet.  How about you?  Have you made the kale chips?  Have you eaten it in a salad?  Kale in your pasta?  What are you doing to add kale to your diet?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Kale Chips – Roasted Lettuce

Posted by terrepruitt on January 21, 2012

Well, I bought the kale on a whim after Nia one day.  My intention was to make kale chips.  I think I looked up the recipe.  The one I found said to remove the stems, then rip the kale into bite sized pieces, then wash it and spin it dry in a salad spinner.  That is as far as I got.  I don’t remember the rest.  It would have served me much better to keep reading and remember the directions.  I don’t have a salad spinner so I thought I would wash the kale before hand and let it dry.  I was thinking that it being dry was very important.  I think I decided that garbanzo beans need to be dry.  But instead of drying the garbanzo beans with a paper towel the other day I put them in the oven on a low temp without any oil, but with a little bit of salt.  I let them “dry” that way.  Then I put olive oil and seasonings on them and roasted them.  They came out very well.  So I thought I would do the same thing with the kale.  But this time I thought I would use my convection setting.  I really ought to “listen” to my nose when it tells me something is burning.  YUP!  I burned the whole tray of kale.  My convection only goes on at 300 degrees and I guess I was thinking kale was much heartier than it actually is.  Sigh.

Dance exercise, Nia dance, Nia class, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, San Jose Dance Exercise, Nia Teacher, Nia classBut with that lesson under my belt and a half of bunch left, I put the remaining kale on the cookie sheet.  I just pulled the leafy greens off the stem at the same time I ripped it into bite sized pieces.  And I washed it first because I didn’t want to be handling the dirty (it was really dirty) kale.

I spayed the pan with olive oil, then set the ripped pieces of kale on the pan, then sprayed the kale with olive oil, then sprinkled garlic salt on it.

I didn’t use the convection part, but I kept the oven at 300, but only for ten minutes.  Let me tell you, the kale cooks a lot slower with the convection off and oil on it.  I think I cooked it a total of forty minutes — maybe it was 30?  I did turn the oven down to 200 after the first ten minutes.  I can’t sit there and watch stuff cook so I thought 200 would be ok, and kept checking it.  I think the last 10 minutes I turned the oven off.  I think it is the type of thing that I will have to cook in ten minute intervals and check on.

It was ok.  It taste like roasted lettuce to me.  I don’t think it deserves the rave reviews that I have heard from people.  And by no means can it beat a potato chip (as so many have claimed), but it is ok.  It is a way to get some greens in.  It is not too hard to make.  It is a great thing to snack on.  And I think my husband REALLY liked them. He kept reaching for them.  Anytime he reaches for something over and over again, I know it is a hit!  So I will be making them again.  I probably will pay as much attention to cooking them as I did this time.  I should have paid more attention because I knew I was going to post about it.  But I didn’t.  After I burned the first batch I was kind up grumpy at myself.  The funny thing is, I burned the first batch because I was so excited to write my kale post.  So I set the time more based on how long it would take me to finish up and post my article then how long it would take to dry the kale.

So have you made kale chips?  Have you tried them?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

Kale – Sounds As If It Should Be A Superfood

Posted by terrepruitt on January 19, 2012

After a I teach Nia I am sweaty and going from a somewhat warm studio to the cold when you are wet is not fun. After Nia class yesterday I was so cold I just wanted to go straight home, but I had one stop to make in Willow Glen. But after that I had planned on jumping on the freeway and going straight home. Sometimes getting off the freeway at our exit is difficult. The most direct route requires one to go from the exit ramp across three to four lanes of a sometimes busy street. Most of the time I can safely move across to the turn lane, but every once in a while it is too trafficky and I don’t believe I should stop the people behind me on the ramp NOR the people driving on the street I am going to cross just because I want to make a left hand turn. I don’t believe in endangering others to make it easier on myself. So sometimes I just stay in the most right lane and drive through the light instead of turning left. Then I take a round about way home. But I get there just the same and I don’t stress other drivers or myself. Well, this happened yesterday when I was freezing and just wanted to get home. As I was deciding on my round about way home I realized I might as well just go to the grocery store since I was on that road already. We could always use fresh veggies so I decided to get some.

Nia teacher, dance exercise, Nia class, Nia, San Jose Nia, Nia San JoseWhile I was in the store a woman started talking to me about eggplant. She said it was too difficult to cook so when her neighbors gives it to her she just throws it away. For on brief moment I considered asking her if I could give her my phone number and she could call me and I would take it! Then we started talking about some of the other vegetables that were in the same area. She was saying collard greens are good for you. I told her that my husband loves them. She asked me how I cooked them and I told her I sautéed them. She said she fried them, the same as the eggplant. While we were talking I noticed the Kale. I always forget about kale. I was happy that we were talking and it allowed me to focus for a moment on the kale. I bought some.

Kale is part of the cabbage family. It is just leaves. Kale is part of the family of vegetables that are called cruciferous vegetables. Some other cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, collard greens, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.

You know how I don’t understand plant species and families and all that. But more and more research is providing information that these types of vegetables are very good for us in regards to nutrients we need.

As much as we all know to take the governmental daily values with a grain of salt, a cup of kale has over 1300% of the daily value of vitamin K, over 350% of vitamin A, and over 80% of vitamin C. It also contains calcium and beta carotene. Research has shown that kale is rich in antioxidant, is an anti-inflammatory, and has properties that are thought to be of the anti-cancer nature. Steamed kale is thought to have cholesterol-lowering benefits.

According to Wiki: Kale freezes well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost. I, myself, am going to try to make the oh-so-talked-about-you-have-probably-heard-about-them kale chips. In fact I could swear that one of you — one of you that I read your blog — posted about kale chips, but I can’t remember who. I went looking but I couldn’t find the post.

Anyway . . . do you eat kale? If you do how do you eat it? I am going to go experiment right now!

Posted in Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Nightshade Vegetables So Good, Yet May Be Bad

Posted by terrepruitt on November 3, 2011

When I first started looking into different types of diets (READ:  NUTRITION PLAN/WAY OF EATING), I was curious to always see Nightshade Vegetables mentioned.  One diet that I have talked about is the anti-inflammation diet, this diet does not contain nightshade vegetables. You might know what they are and what that means, but I have mentioned before that I am not a gardener.  I am not a gardener and even more so I have no idea about vegetable families and their classifications and stuff.    I keep having to look it up.  What is a nightshade vegetable?  Nia teacher, Nia classes, Nia dance, Nia cardio, Nia workout, Nia, Nia fitnessNightshade vegetables are from the Solanaceae Family.  Nightshade vegetables contain a group of chemicals found in plants called alkaloids.  There are different types of plant alkaloids, some being toxic.  Plants containing alkaloids have been used for medicinal purposes as well as stimulates and poisons.  Studies have proven that alkaloids can affect some of the functions in the body.  Some people are more susceptible than others.  These vegetables are thought to interfere with digestion, muscles, and joints.  Nightshade vegetables promote inflammation in the body.

If you are susceptible to them it might be beneficial to limit consumption of these types of veggies.  As I mentioned if you are on an anti-inflammation diet they might be forbidden all together.  Again this could only be if you are sensitive to them.  Or if you are interested in trying to reduce the amount of chronic inflammation in the body.  If you have arthritis or any other disease associated with chronic inflammation it might be something to try. Or if you experience pain caused by sensitive nerves.

Nightshade vegetables are very common.  They are so common it kind of makes sense that chronic inflammation is more prevalent and being study by the medical profession.  I think the most common nightshade veggies are potatoes, tomatoes, and bell peppers.  You know I LOVE bell peppers and I was just learning to like tomatoes.  And the issue with potatoes is they are yummy in so many forms; mashed, fried, baked, roasted.  In addition to my beloved bell pepper ALL peppers are lumped in this family.  So even the hot ones that might aid in digestion could be causing inflammation issues.

In addition to inflammation there is research has proved that the alkaloid in potatoes interrupt signals from nerves to muscles and might contribute to muscle twitches.  Next time you have a twitch try to remember if you had any potatoes.  In addition to signal interruption, the chemicals contained in some nightshade vegetables might even cause pain  Also some research has shown that the alkaloids leech calcium out of bones and deposit it into soft tissue.

Eggplant is also a nightshade vegetable.  I love roasted eggplant.  Eggplant along with tomatoes contain nicotine.  Yup, tobacco is a nightshade plant and nicotine is an alkaloid.  It is fortunate that both tomatoes and eggplant contain a lot less nicotine then tobacco, it is still interesting to know.

Cooking reduces the level of alkaloids in our veggies by about 40-50%.

Please note that I am not saying that any health issue or discomfort you are experiencing is caused by nightshade vegetables/food.  What I am saying is that some research has either proved or associated the alkaloids in nightshade vegetables/foods to be connected to certain things; inflammation, digestive issues, nervous system malfunctions, pain, muscle twitching, etc. and it is interesting to know.  And it might be beneficial to do some experimenting with your diet if you think you might be sensitive to the chemicals found in some of the vegetables and/or spices considered nightshade foods.

Did you know what veggies were considered nightshade?  I am glad that I now have this list.

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Baby Bok Choy – Oh Joy!

Posted by terrepruitt on September 17, 2011

I am in love. I first mentioned bok choy on my blog when I was talking about foods that Dr. Oz thinks will help prevent cancer.  When I first mentioned it I thought I had never had it, but some commentors pointed out that I more than likely had it in Chinese food. Yeah, they, of course, were correct.  I really like baby bok choy in my soup.  I thought it would make a good substitution for green garlic. I thought it was more like an onion.  The other day I decided to buy some and add it to a chicken dish I had made. Oh my.

The baby bok choy added such a great flavor I wondered if I would like it sautéed by itself. So I cooked some up last night. I had faith I would like it. So much faith that I made my hubby collard greens, which he loves, so I wouldn’t have to share my baby bok choy. Oh my. It taste like butter. As I was eating it I kept thinking “butter”. So I wanted to verify that. So I sacrificed a bite to hubby. I said, “Does that taste like butter?” He agreed. I told him I didn’t put any butter in it and he said if he didn’t know better he would have said I was lying.

To cook it, I cut the ends off the top green portion and chopped them up, then after they are cooked tender I throw in the chopped green portion and cook them a bit. My cooking method is to saute it in garlic olive oil, with some onions and garlic salt – yeah, my norm.

I am convinced that boy choy does not taste the same although I have not tried it I just have experienced baby versions of veggies are different than ”adult” versions. So I am sticking to the baby bok choy.

I forgot it was considered a cabbage.  I was just reminded that I had heard that because I wrote it in my Dr. Oz post.  But I don’t understand the classifications of fruits and veggies, so I am not surprised that I didn’t know it was considered a cabbage and then forgot it was considered a cabbage shortly after I learned it.   I do not think of cabbage as “stalky”.  I think of cabbage as a round head.  But . . . bok choy is considered a cabbage.  According to The Cook’s Thesaurus:

“bok choy = Chinese chard = Chinese white cabbage = Chinese cabbage = Chinese
mustard cabbage = pak choy = pak choi = baak choi = white mustard cabbage =
white celery mustard = taisai = bai cai”  and “bok choy sum = Canton bok choy”

I could not find specific nutrition information on BABY bok choy but WebMD said:

Per 1 cup:  Bok Choy Cooked

Calories                   20
Fiber                         3
Vitamin A              62%
Vitamin B-2           10%
Vitamin B-6           22%
Vitamin C               59%
Folic Acid               17%
Magnesium              6%
Potassium              18%
Omega-3s         100 mg

dance exercise, Nia teacher, Nia class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, helpyouwell.com

It is a cruciferous vegetable.  Which family “takes its alternate name (Cruciferae, New Latin for “cross-bearing”) from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross,” according to Wiki.  Cruciferous vegetables have a lot of phytochemicals which are thought to have anti-cancer properties.  Could be that they also contain a lot of vitamins and minerals and are not short on delivering dietary fiber.  All of which I think contribute to health.

I really believe that baby bok choy is a vegetable that people who do not like vegetables could use as a “gateway vegetable”.  :-)   They could eat it allowing them to get used to the idea of vegetables and it could help start them on the path of eating vegetables.

What about you, do you like bok choy?  Have you tried baby bok choy?  I have a feeling that you will see more post about baby bok choy as I experiment with cooking it and eating it.

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

An Amazing Friend and What Is In the Inside

Posted by terrepruitt on August 20, 2011

I have posted before about what wonderful friends and Nia students I have.  I have also posted about bell peppers.  My love for both should be pretty well-known.  :-)   I consider my friends and the people who allow me to hold my Nia classes one of my most precious blessings.  Between the group of them I have supporters, counselors, advisors, therapists, doctors, sounding boards, teachers, chefs, cooks, cheer leaders, advocates, lunch dates, chauffeurs, bakers, gardeners, and the list goes on and on.  And bell peppers . . .well, with them there are endless snacks, meals, and yumminess.

Nia teacher, Nia classes, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Los Gatos Nia, Nia Los Gatos, Nia in the San Francisco Bay AreaBut, as you are probably aware, not everyone likes bells peppers.  You could be among the group of people who do not.  You might be one of the people who like the red, but not the green or like the yellow but not the red.  There are a lot of combinations in that group.  Also, as you may know a bell pepper, when an ingredient in a cooked dish, tends to permeate the entire dish.  There really is no “picking” them out if you don’t like the flavor.  If you don’t like the flavor then you probably just avoid the dish entirely.  While the flavors of the colors do vary, no matter what color is used the flavor seeps into the entire dish.  I am not certain if this applies to raw foods, as in a salad, because I love bell peppers so I am not sure if it “gets all over” when it is not cooked.

Well, all of this leads up to two things; an amazing friend and what is in the inside.

First of all, I have an amazing friend who GREW bell peppers for me.  She had read my post about different colored bell peppers and my mention of purple ones so when she was planting her garden she planted some purple bell peppers for me.  When she told me she had some purple bell peppers for me my first thought was, “Oh, how nice!  How could she give them away?”  See?  That is how much I love bell peppers, I wouldn’t think of giving them away.  Then she told me she planted and grew them for me.  I thought that was the nicest thing.  Then after she gave them to me we were talking and she reminded me that she HATES bell peppers.  ALL colors!  No matter what.  She thinks they all taste the same.  I had forgotten, which is really probably just a mental block because she is such a vegetable lover and I love them so much, I forget that people don’t like them.  So the fact that she HATES them (REALLY REALLY) made her planting them and growing them for me even more special to me.

Nia teacher, Nia classes, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Los Gatos Nia, Nia Los Gatos, Nia in the San Francisco Bay AreaNow, there are some funny things about these bell peppers.  First of all they are very small.  The idea was that they were purple so they are ready.  I am not a gardener so I don’t know, except from what I have read bell peppers are ready when they get to the color you have planted.  So it was decided that these were purple so they are ready.  They are soooo cute!

The second thing is they are GREEN inside.  That was a surprise to me.  I had seen purple bell peppers before, in the store, but I had never actually had them, so the GREEN was a surprise.  I cut it open while I was on the phone with the gardener that grew them and our first thought was that there were not ready because they were green inside, but a quick Google search revealed that the purple ones are green inside.  Funny.  All the other bell peppers are the same color all the way through, except the purples ones.  I wonder why that is.

There you have it, an amazing friend and an amazing (well to me) bell pepper.

So now tell me?  Bell pepper lover or hater?  Which color do you prefer?  Did you know that the purple ones were green on the inside?  Since I can’t tell, does a raw bell pepper permeate a raw dish with its bell pepper flavor?  Tell me, I really want to know!

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Cucumber Uses

Posted by terrepruitt on July 5, 2011

Day flew by, even thought I didn’t teach a Nia class today, I am just now getting to my post.  I received this list a long time ago.  My plan was to research each fact to see if it was true. I realize that I could spend my time looking up each item and not really find out if it was true.  AND, I realized that my readers probably know better.  Some of you might have received this very same list.  Some of you might have tried some of these things.  And better yet, some of you might venture on this very post to comment on what you know.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

6. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

7. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

8. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

9. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

10. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

11. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

I am adding that a cucumber is mostly water.  And while their flavor is in their seeds, I have heard that it is the seeds that might also cause gas for some people.  In case you have received this list in an e-mail you may notice a couple missing, yeah, I removed them because I didn’t feel comfortable posting them.  I didn’t check on these except for the vitamins.  I wanted to give you an idea about that.

According to About.com a cup of sliced cucumbers contain the follow amounts of what is listed above:

•Calcium: 8 mg
•Iron: 0.15 mg
•Magnesium: 7 mg
•Phosphorus: 12 mg
•Potassium: 76 mg
•Zinc: 0.10 mg
•Vitamin C: 1.5 mg
•Thiamin (B1): 0.014 mg
•Riboflavin (B2): 0.017 mg
•Niacin (B3): 0.051 mg
•Pantothenic Acid (B5): 0.135 mg
•Vitamin B6: 0.021 mg
•Vitamin B12: 0 mcg

As I typed this I made me want some cucumber water.

Have you tried any of these tips?  Do they work?  Let us know.

Posted in Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

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