Top Vegetables & Fruits

[quote]Chef Lisa Marie wrote:

If you add wine to it the acid will turn it brown…that’s why I just finish with the vinegar so I can keep it nice and bright green.
[/quote]

that’s a nice tip . thanks !

I agree with the idea that we should eat lots of different veggies and fruits of various colors.

Let’s add to that though. Eat lots of different TASTES as well. Most people tend to concentrate on the sweet taste. Try to get bitter. If you have a chinese market near you there is a great vegetable called, Ku gua…bitter melon. Eat that! Oriental medicine teaches that you should eat some of the five tastes…sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent.

How about eating more fermented vegetables…that’s really good for the digestive system. The better the digestive system, the better you absorb
the nutrients of all the food you are eating. For example, you can get naturally fermented sauerkraut, kim chee, or pickles.

Make sure they are naturally fermented though…Naturally fermentation will not include vinegar. It will just have salt and maybe some whey. You can buy this stuff or make it yourself. It’s not hard to do. I recently started drinking a fermented drink, Kombucha, that is completely blowing my mind. I prefer it over any soda or carbonated water that I used to drink. In Cali, you can get it at Whole Foods. The brand I get is GTS and I like the Gingerade flavor.

How about including some sea vegetables in your diet? Some of these are great raw in salads…try arame with carrot!

I read somewhere that all foods have something toxic about them. That’s how the plant protects itself from predators. Eating TOO much of any food therefore will be bad for you but eating a little bit of a lot of foods will prevent you from being exposed to any particular toxin. I have not background in horticulture so I dont know if that’s true, but it makes sense to me.

I’m a firm believer in seaweed, and other plants that come from the sea.
I’ve been taking a supplement that I saw in GNC called Sea Vegg.
It’s really interesting how kelp grows.
It has no roots, but yet the sun lights rays gives it minerals to grow.
It’s basically like a sponge, absorbing all the nutrients minerals and trace elements from the sea water. The supplement that I take has over 12 different species of kelp. It also contains Fucoidan, which is a marine algal polysaccharide.

I actually read a study on the Sea Vegg website saying that japanese researchers discovered that Fucoidan has anti-tumor properties and that fucoidan caused certain types of growing cancer cells to self-destruct,
due to activation by the digestive enzymes contained in the cells themselves.

[quote]entheogens wrote:
I agree with the idea that we should eat lots of different veggies and fruits of various colors.

Let’s add to that though. Eat lots of different TASTES as well. Most people tend to concentrate on the sweet taste. Try to get bitter. If you have a chinese market near you there is a great vegetable called, Ku gua…bitter melon. Eat that! Oriental medicine teaches that you should eat some of the five tastes…sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent.

How about eating more fermented vegetables…that’s really good for the digestive system. The better the digestive system, the better you absorb
the nutrients of all the food you are eating. For example, you can get naturally fermented sauerkraut, kim chee, or pickles.

Make sure they are naturally fermented though…Naturally fermentation will not include vinegar. It will just have salt and maybe some whey. You can buy this stuff or make it yourself. It’s not hard to do. I recently started drinking a fermented drink, Kombucha, that is completely blowing my mind. I prefer it over any soda or carbonated water that I used to drink. In Cali, you can get it at Whole Foods. The brand I get is GTS and I like the Gingerade flavor.

How about including some sea vegetables in your diet? Some of these are great raw in salads…try arame with carrot!

I read somewhere that all foods have something toxic about them. That’s how the plant protects itself from predators. Eating TOO much of any food therefore will be bad for you but eating a little bit of a lot of foods will prevent you from being exposed to any particular toxin. I have not background in horticulture so I dont know if that’s true, but it makes sense to me.[/quote]

I agree with all those suggestions as well.

Every hear of the taste called Umami? It’s very popular in Japanese culture. It is caused by Glutamate I believe. Mushrooms, seaweed, and fermented foods have this flavor…other stuff to but, I can’t remember right now.

As for fermented foods:
I make my own Kefir and it is amazing. You can get grains for lots of places and then you just ferment it in raw or regular milk for about 24 hours then strain it and use it. It’s really helped my digestion tons.

I just mix about 4 oz of it with my Metabolic Drive Protein Powder in my morning or afternoon shakes everyday. Amazing stuff fermented foods.

[quote]Chef Lisa Marie wrote:
Here is a list of some of MY favorite veggies and fruits:

[center]Cabbages (chinese especially)
Cauliflower (all colors)
Brussel Sprouts
Broccolis
Broccoflower
Bok Choys
Radish
Daikon
Arugala
Watercress
Peppers (all colors)
Onions (all varieties)
Baby Spinach
Asparagus
Green Beans
Yellow Wax Beans
Jicama
Hot peppers (all kinds)

Fruits:
Apples (esp. granny smith or green)
Apricots
Bananas
Black Berries
Blueberries
Cherries, Sweet
Figs Raw
Gooseberries
Grapes (esp champagne grapes)
Kiwis
Lychee (OMG! Soooo good)
Mango
Melons all varieties
Mulberries
Nectarine
Oranges (blood orange cool looking and great tasting)
Papaya
Peach
Pears (esp Asian pears, cruncy delicious)
Pineapple fresh (worth the work)
Plums
Quince (great roasted with pork)
Raisins
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tomato, Raw (is it a fruit? is it a veggie? either way, it’s great)
Watermelon [/center]
[/quote]

OK, but apart from these, which are the best?

[quote]entheogens wrote:
I read somewhere that all foods have something toxic about them. That’s how the plant protects itself from predators. Eating TOO much of any food therefore will be bad for you but eating a little bit of a lot of foods will prevent you from being exposed to any particular toxin.[/quote]

What I have read is that grains, beans and many tubers (such as potatoes) are toxic, and we need to cook them in order to breakdown the toxins so we can eat them safely. Vegetables, fruits, meat and fish (all if fresh and healthy, and free of pesticides/hormones) can be eaten raw with no side effects. Or so I hear.

Another reason to go low carb?

[quote]swivel wrote:
Brahms wrote:
kale is my staple veg.

keep going like that and its an easy way to get all the phytochemicals in.

how do you prepare kale ?

[/quote]

the recipes posted above sound delicious and i will try them out soon. for now, i usually make it after i make fish or steak. after the meat is done, i turn off the stove, remove meat, then pour some water into the pan, and some salt. then i throw in the kale, and turn the heat to low. i run, stirring it around a bit every minute or so. I use dino kale which turns a very nice, deep green color when its ready.

[quote]Miserere wrote:
entheogens wrote:
I read somewhere that all foods have something toxic about them. That’s how the plant protects itself from predators. Eating TOO much of any food therefore will be bad for you but eating a little bit of a lot of foods will prevent you from being exposed to any particular toxin.

What I have read is that grains, beans and many tubers (such as potatoes) are toxic, and we need to cook them in order to breakdown the toxins so we can eat them safely. Vegetables, fruits, meat and fish (all if fresh and healthy, and free of pesticides/hormones) can be eaten raw with no side effects. Or so I hear.

Another reason to go low carb?[/quote]

The nutrients in cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower) are, according to what I have read, all made more accessible through cooking. However, on the whole, I agree with you. In general (with a few exceptions) eating raw is better.

There is stuff like steak tartare which some of us are used to eating (strangely in francophone countries this dish is commonly known as “filet americain”…go figure) and sushi and sashimi. No doubt if the source is good, raw meat is great. I admit that I would have a very hard time eating raw chicken and cant even think of raw pork.

To make grains more edible, we should always sprout them (leaving overnight in water will do if we are going to cook them). I rarely eat normal bread anymore, but instead eat the sprouted bread “manna bread” that they sell in health food stores.

[quote]Miserere wrote:
entheogens wrote:
I read somewhere that all foods have something toxic about them. That’s how the plant protects itself from predators. Eating TOO much of any food therefore will be bad for you but eating a little bit of a lot of foods will prevent you from being exposed to any particular toxin.

What I have read is that grains, beans and many tubers (such as potatoes) are toxic, and we need to cook them in order to breakdown the toxins so we can eat them safely. Vegetables, fruits, meat and fish (all if fresh and healthy, and free of pesticides/hormones) can be eaten raw with no side effects. Or so I hear.

Another reason to go low carb?[/quote]

Actually, sprouted grains are different than baked wheat bread.
Sprouted grains are not toxic. The diet industry, who spread these lies, however, are. When you cook bread, it loses all of the nutrients and minerals it got from the sun and soil.

But sprouting it in sun light is the best thing you can do to them.
I do agree that people eat way too many of the wrong carbs, but there is no need to cut out a food group.

I can say people eat too much fat in our society too (the wrong kind of fat, like trans fat) and cut out all fat in my diet. Where would that get me? Thats just stupid. How the food is grown/processed is what makes it healthier.

[quote]Chef Lisa Marie wrote:

Every hear of the taste called Umami? It’s very popular in Japanese culture. It is caused by Glutamate I believe. Mushrooms, seaweed, and fermented foods have this flavor…other stuff to but, I can’t remember right now.
[/quote]

I haven’t heard of that. Would like to know more though. Most fermented foods have a sour taste for me. Seaweed is usually salty and mushrooms, hmmm, cant think of a taste for fresh ones…earthy is about the only word that comes to mind.

[quote]As for fermented foods:
I make my own Kefir and it is amazing.
[/quote]

That’s awesome! Do you use pasteurized or raw milk to make your kefir?

[quote]swivel wrote:

how do you prepare kale ?

[/quote]

I saute up onion, garlic, chorizo sausage, then toss the roughly chopped wet kale on top and steam it.

There is some amazing advice in this thread and I have learned alot, keep it up!

[quote]shizen wrote:
There is some amazing advice in this thread and I have learned alot, keep it up![/quote]

its one of the (very good) side effects of engaging in a dedicated fitness program. not only do you learn how to use the gym properly, you become an excellent cook!

Something I’d like to add:

Propylene is sprayed on green tomatoes to ripen them on their journey from Cali to their desination. Another reason to choose local produce.

[quote]entheogens wrote:
Do you use pasteurized or raw milk to make your kefir?[/quote]

I use a local farms milk:

http://www.ronnybrook.com/site_new/home_start.html

It is pasturized although all the milk comes from grass fed cows and there are no added hormones, antibiotics or additives like most milk.

Let me see if I can come up with some more info on the fifth taste Umami and write something up. I think it’s one of the most interesting things going on in the food world for quite a while now. It is just becoming popular in the US but, has been very popular with Japanese chefs for quite a while.

[quote]Chef Lisa Marie wrote:
entheogens wrote:
Do you use pasteurized or raw milk to make your kefir?

I use a local farms milk:

http://www.ronnybrook.com/site_new/home_start.html

It is pasturized although all the milk comes from grass fed cows and there are no added hormones, antibiotics or additives like most milk.

Let me see if I can come up with some more info on the fifth taste Umami and write something up. I think it’s one of the most interesting things going on in the food world for quite a while now. It is just becoming popular in the US but, has been very popular with Japanese chefs for quite a while. [/quote]

Would you consider selling any of these =]? Getting money through paypal or something.

[quote]shizen wrote:
Chef Lisa Marie wrote:
entheogens wrote:
Do you use pasteurized or raw milk to make your kefir?

I use a local farms milk:

http://www.ronnybrook.com/site_new/home_start.html

It is pasturized although all the milk comes from grass fed cows and there are no added hormones, antibiotics or additives like most milk.

Let me see if I can come up with some more info on the fifth taste Umami and write something up. I think it’s one of the most interesting things going on in the food world for quite a while now. It is just becoming popular in the US but, has been very popular with Japanese chefs for quite a while.

Would you consider selling any of these =]? Getting money through paypal or something.[/quote]

I believe you can probably order through the farm. I’m just a regular person and I don’t sell anything. You probably have a similar farm near you just search around and look at the health food, farm markets or gourmet stores in your area. They’re usually the best places to find local/seasonal ingredients or at least let you know where you can get them.