Veggiepedia

• Information about veggies – close up on vegetables, a world renowned expert shares his knowledge of vegetables...
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• Do you know that... find out interesting facts and pass them on
• Useful information - healthy food influences our health, protects us from illnesses and more

Vegetables for health

A diet rich in vegetables protects our bodies, prevents us from many illnesses and influences the way we feel. Vegetables provide us with many nutrients that are then stored in our bodies, which play a crucial part in our lives; they are rich in vitamins, mostly vitamin C, which stimulates natural resistance and the healing processes. Vegetables also contain phytosubstances and B group vitamins, especially folic acid, essential for pregnant women. They are low in sodium and many are rich in potassium. Most of us use too much sodium in the form of culinary salt; but potassium balances our bodies’ sodium level; this protects us from hypertension. Vegetables also contain natural fibre, which has a great influence on proper digestion and our general health condition. They are low in calories and fats, which can be seen in the vegetable caloric charts; therefore, they form a great basis for many diets. If we eat lots of vegetables, we can limit the amount of other protein rich foods we eat, such as meat. The fact that they influence our libido is also important, since they are often considered a natural aphrodisiac.

Vegetables are healthy, delicious and easy to prepare

When we go shopping for vegetables or out to a market, we are enchanted by the richness of colours and the vegetables’ shapes: blue aubergine, yellow zucchini or red tomato... We’d like to prepare them right away and eat them on the spot. As we know, vegetables have several health benefits and make a great base for many dishes; they’re an essential ingredient for many casseroles, steamed dishes, or served as a side dish with fish, meat and poultry dishes. They also go well with nuts, groats, and grains that are so important in the vegetarian diet.

Cooking vegetable dishes gives us a fantastic new culinary experience and additionally, when they’re prepared properly they’re tasty, aromatic, and nutritious. Fresh vegetables require minimal preparation – the less they’re processed, the healthier they are. They should be consumed when they’re fresh, raw or cooked minimally, so that they don’t lose too many vitamins. They’re simply ideal for people who cannot spend more than half an hour or so on preparing a meal. They’re also great for teenagers who are starting their adventure with cooking, since the ease of preparation encourages them to experiment in the kitchen.

Fresh or frozen? What does it depend on? Are frozen vegetables healthy? Vegetables maintain their values when they are both frozen and canned. Frozen vegetables are high in nutrients and can be combined with fresh ones, for example in stir-fry types of dishes.  Canned vegetables are easy to use, enriching dishes with valuable fibre. Canned tomatoes contain lycopene, which has an anti-cancerous effect. Do you know the history of a can?

Culinary journeys

Most of us eat only a couple of varieties of green vegetables, but, it is worth trying something new. Let’s discover the whole variety of juicy leaves, delicate sprouts, shoots, stems and branches and experiment with recipes from the world’s various cuisines, since vegetables are the basis for nutrition at every latitude. People all across the world eat vegetables, even when weather conditions do not permit serving fresh vegetables too often. Scandinavians find marinating and pickling vegetables useful; whereas, we notice the Italian cuisine with its ever present tomato, or the Greeks using lashings of olive oil. We can’t forget about the important role of vegetables such as corn or pumpkin, so entwined in the American cuisine. It’s also worth learning from the Chinese cuisine, where vegetables of oriental origin, often not so popular with us, play a key role.

A vegetable craft for persistent people

Not everybody knows that vegetables are great material for ...carving. This art has been used at the Chinese emperors’ courts since the ninth century. This exquisitely adorned craft, turns dishes into something not only tasty, but also pleasant on the eye. Vegetable sculpture can also make a genuine gift e.g. at a wedding, since it will last longer than flowers.

Eat and live healthily

A healthy diet gives us more confidence: we also look better, feel better and have more energy. Nutritionists’ views and nutritional trends are constantly changing, but the basis of the healthy dietary principles is always the same. We should eat fruit and vegetables at least 5 times a day. No other dietary foods can equal fruit and vegetables since they’re so diverse. They make our meals varied; they supply us with vitamins, microelements, substances for protecting our bodies and fibre. Have you ever thought which vegetables will be popular in the 21st century? We should particularly predict increased consumption of the cabbage family’s vegetables, especially due to the high nutritious values they contain.

Let’s use these gifts from nature every day, then we will feel better, we will have slim figures, and in the long-term, we will be protected from serious illnesses.