Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Health Food You May Not be Eating



I’m a huge fan of meals in a bowl.  They can be soups, stews, hearty grain dishes, or even salads.  In fact, more and more, I prepare my salads chopped–meaning that the ingredients are cut small and tossed together to make more of a slaw than a chunky salad.  Which is one reason I also like the vegetable grater for veggies like carrots, beets, and zucchini.  Tonight, I took the grater to another vegetable, the daikon radish.  Shown above, it’s much larger than the typical round, red radish.  I’ve seen them over a foot long.  This one was not so big. 

Why eat daikon versus red radishes? I actually prefer them to red radishes because they have less of a bite.  The taste is similar, just less intense. And to me, this is one vegetable where looks can be deceiving because rather than a vibrant red or orange or green color, they’re white and I always associate bright colors with beneficial nutrients.  Yet for few calories, they’re loaded with vitamin C, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and lots of fiber.   And shredding really brings out the water in them, so they’re juicy and a little crunchy at the same time. 


Just wash, peel, and shred with the large grater.  Tonight, I ate them alone as a side dish with some greens and pumpkin soup.  But they’re great in a salad too and I like to cut them into sticks for dipping into hummus or guacamole.  If you normally shy away from radishes, I encourage you to try daikon.   It’s a simple healthy food you don’t want to miss out on…