VEGETABLES
At the mention of vegetables most people just think of anything that is green and has leaves. In fact, we see it as things we add to soups and stews. But it's much more than what we see or know. Today, on FFH with TribesLady Oma-Emerald, we will be taking a look at the various kinds of vegetables and their uses. Come along....
Vegetable is a plant or part of plant used as
food, such as a cabbage, a potato, turnip or bean.
SUBGROUPS
OF VEGETABLE BASED ON NUTRIENTS
 |
| DARK GREEN VEGETABLES: They include broccoli, romaine, lettuce, spinach, watercress, kale etc. |
 |
| RED AND ORANGE VEGETABLES: Tomatoes, Carrots, Squash, Pumpkin, sweet potatoes. |
 |
| BEANS AND PEAS: Black beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, soybeans, tofu, lentils, green beans, green peas etc. |
STARCHY VEGETABLES: Corn, potatoes, green peas, green lima beans, water chestnuts etc.
OTHER VEGETABLES: Zucchini, wax beans, green beans, green or bell pepper, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, avocado, beans sprouts etc.
 |
| Green Peas |
 |
| Butter Squash |
IMPORTANCE
OF VEGETABLES
We came to realize in our previous edition, that
vegetables are not just that leafy part of a plant (used to think that way) but
also a part of plant used as food according to their nutritional value.
We shall look at a whole lot of nutritional
package that accompanies VEGETABLES. It shall be an
eye-opener to those who hate incorporating vegetables to their diets.
IMPORTANCE
OF INCORPORATING VEGETABLES IN YOUR DIETS
1. Vegetables provides you with vital nutrients
such as dietary fiber, potassium, folate (folic acid), Vitamin A, C, E
that are needed and important to one's health. Foods such as vegetables that
are lower
in calories may be helpful in reducing overall calorie intake.
2. Vegetables and Fruits rich in potassium may help
to reduce
the risk of developing decreased bone density and developing kidney stones.
3. Diets rich in fiber-like fruits and vegetables
may help
reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
4. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as
part of a general healthy diet can protect against particular types of Cancer.
5. It may also serve to reduce the risk of strokes, heart
attack, and heart failures.
DEEP
INTO VEGETABLE SUBGROUPS
Let's look deeper into the different Subgroups
of vegetables and see what nutrient they've got to offer.
DARK
GREEN VEGETABLES: These can provide you
with many essential Vitamins and Minerals. They are especially rich in Vitamin
A, C and Calcium. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetables has.
RED
AND ORANGE VEGETABLES: They
are a great source of antioxidants. They contain beta-carotene, folate, potassium,
as well as Vitamin A and C. The antioxidants and phytochemicals they contain, can
boost your immune system, fight harmful free radicals and reduce the risk of
developing certain types of Cancer. Those vegetables can also lower blood
pressure, LDL Cholesterol levels. Macular degeneration due to aging and
problems with joints can be reduced by eating Orange vegetables. Orange
vegetables are low in fat and high in fiber. Eating Orange vegetables will help
you get more energy.
BEANS
AND PEAS: Provide Zinc and Iron.
They both are excellent source of folate, potassium and dietary fiber. Beans
are naturally low in fat. They are Cholesterol free source of protein. Beans
are high in antioxidants and protects against cell damaging free radicals in
the body.
STARCHY
VEGETABLES: They are a good source
of energy. They contain starch, fiber, Calcium, Iron and B-Vitamins.
How
much VEGETABLES do I need?
The amount of these vegetables needed or
required in us is dependent on our body system, our age, gender and how much
physical activity one regularly engages in. One way of getting an adequate
amount of vegetables is to make sure half of the meal plate you eat from, is
composed of fruits and/or vegetables.
Recipes
with VEGETABLES
Recipes may include: Leafy vegetable soups, stews,
sauces, salads etc. and non-leafy vegetables like porridges etc.
Okra
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients: Okra, Red Oil, Beef, Stockfish, Crayfish, Pepper and
salt to taste, Onions (optional), seasoning, Leafy Vegetables e.g. Pumpkin leaves or spinach.
Procedure:
1. Wash, season the beef and stockfish in a pot
containing little amount of water and cook till done.
2. In another pot, pour your red palm oil, allow to
heat, add your washed and chopped Okra
Vegetable and fry a little to start the drawing process.
3. Add some meat stock from time to time until you
notice the drawing of the soup. Frying should be maximum of 4 minutes to avoid
overcooking of Okra.
4. Add the vegetables and stir well. Add the meat
and fish, salt to taste, pepper to taste, seasoning to make up if lacking, crayfish.
5. Cover the pot and leave to simmer.
Our
Okra Vegetables soup is ready.
Serve with: Eba, Semo, Cassava (fufu), Tuwon
shinkafa or pounded yam.
The awesome thing about this is, with amount as
little as N500, you can prepare a healthy Okra Vegetable soup and enjoy
it's inflow of nutrients to you.
Written by
Tribeslady Oma-Emerald
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