Vegetables. Now though there are exceptions it seems the older we get the more we want to eat them. So how do we prepare them? What is the best way to season them and cook them so we can enjoy them and still receive the benefits from them.
Let's pick a vegetable and we'll discuss a different way to prepare a delectable dish for it.
Asparagus is going to be the subject in this topic. It's delicious and can be eaten with almost any food in the world. Chicken, fish, rice, seafood, potatoes, etc. Anything. According to pkdiet.com answering the question, What are the nutritional benefits of asparagus? They wrote:
A 5.3 ounce serving (approximately 5 spears) has only 20 calories, 0 fat or cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 400 milligrams of potassium, 3 grams of fiber, 60% of the USRDA of folacin, and are excellent sources of thiamin and vitamin B6. Also, nutrition-and-you.com writes that its shoots are also good source of vitamin K. Adequate vitamin-K levels in the diet help limiting neuronal damage in the brain; thus, has established role in the treatment of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
So how do we cook it. Some people cook the mush out of it until it holds no density and with that thought here comes another one. How much nutritional value are we losing when we cook our vegetables or over cook them. Well, according to livestrong.com we lose minerals and vitamins when cooking our vegetables however we increase the antioxidants when steaming or boiling them. They also noted that if you boil your vegetables and want to maintain that mineral or vitamin value then you can save the water after boiling your vegetables and make a soup. The minerals and vitamins in your vegetables boil out into the water so be creative while staying healthy.
So below is a gourmet recipe to cook your asparagus. The referenced website is listed next to the ingredients you will need for the recipe. Please enjoy this recipe from
Manjula's Kitchen:
ifood.tv - Asparagus w/ Ginger
1 lb. Asparagus
2 tbsp. of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Cumin Seed
1 tbsp. of minced Ginger
2 teaspoon of Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 cup (4tbs) parmesan cheese
Instructions:
The first thing you are going to do is prepare the asparagus. Holding the stalk at both ends, bend the asparagus gently until the stalk break's on its own. When finished throw away the base of the broken stalks. Now take a knife and
slice the remaining asparagus spears diagonally into 2 inch pieces.
After you've cut the stalks, using a large frying pan bring your olive oil to medium heat.
Put the cumin seeds to the frying pan and wait till they crack; then add your sliced asparagus, ginger, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
Now, stir-fry it for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the asparagus are tender but still crunchy. You don't want to over cook the asparagus. You want to make sure you keep it crisp.
When finished cooking:
Now you just sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on your dish, just prior to serving.
TIPS from Manjula's Kitchen:
Add 1 tablespoon sliced almonds halfway through cooking the asparagus. This will make a beautiful presentation and taste great.
Let's pick a vegetable and we'll discuss a different way to prepare a delectable dish for it.
Asparagus is going to be the subject in this topic. It's delicious and can be eaten with almost any food in the world. Chicken, fish, rice, seafood, potatoes, etc. Anything. According to pkdiet.com answering the question, What are the nutritional benefits of asparagus? They wrote:
A 5.3 ounce serving (approximately 5 spears) has only 20 calories, 0 fat or cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 400 milligrams of potassium, 3 grams of fiber, 60% of the USRDA of folacin, and are excellent sources of thiamin and vitamin B6. Also, nutrition-and-you.com writes that its shoots are also good source of vitamin K. Adequate vitamin-K levels in the diet help limiting neuronal damage in the brain; thus, has established role in the treatment of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
So how do we cook it. Some people cook the mush out of it until it holds no density and with that thought here comes another one. How much nutritional value are we losing when we cook our vegetables or over cook them. Well, according to livestrong.com we lose minerals and vitamins when cooking our vegetables however we increase the antioxidants when steaming or boiling them. They also noted that if you boil your vegetables and want to maintain that mineral or vitamin value then you can save the water after boiling your vegetables and make a soup. The minerals and vitamins in your vegetables boil out into the water so be creative while staying healthy.
So below is a gourmet recipe to cook your asparagus. The referenced website is listed next to the ingredients you will need for the recipe. Please enjoy this recipe from
Manjula's Kitchen:
ifood.tv - Asparagus w/ Ginger
1 lb. Asparagus
2 tbsp. of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Cumin Seed
1 tbsp. of minced Ginger
2 teaspoon of Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 cup (4tbs) parmesan cheese
Instructions:
The first thing you are going to do is prepare the asparagus. Holding the stalk at both ends, bend the asparagus gently until the stalk break's on its own. When finished throw away the base of the broken stalks. Now take a knife and
slice the remaining asparagus spears diagonally into 2 inch pieces.
After you've cut the stalks, using a large frying pan bring your olive oil to medium heat.
Put the cumin seeds to the frying pan and wait till they crack; then add your sliced asparagus, ginger, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
Now, stir-fry it for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the asparagus are tender but still crunchy. You don't want to over cook the asparagus. You want to make sure you keep it crisp.
When finished cooking:
Now you just sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese on your dish, just prior to serving.
TIPS from Manjula's Kitchen:
Add 1 tablespoon sliced almonds halfway through cooking the asparagus. This will make a beautiful presentation and taste great.
I want to thank Manjula's Kitchen, ifood.tv, pkdiet.com and wikipedia for their help and if you are interested in more motivational ways to live a healthy lifestyle then keep glancing around the site there is tons of information that is fun to learn and great to enjoy!
