Seven vegetables to end your family's vegetable fatigue

On the scale of greens, chard's flavor and consistency lies midway between spinach and kale.  Kale a bit too hearty?  Spinach a bit passe?  Try rainbow chard, which can be used in many of your favorite recipes for both.  Those beautiful multicolored stems will give your dish a new pop that can create new favorites out of old recipes.  Here's a great recipe for a chard pesto with a Mexican kick.  Artists are artists because they love color.  They think the world needs more of it.  They are on to a great secret, too.  The more colorful something is, the more interesting it becomes.Cauliflower is great, and it is tasty.  But it is, well, a little WHITE.  Why not try a purple caulflower, or a yellow one?  Or a combination of both?  Paint your plate with colorful varieties of the veggies you know, and watch the interest grow!It's a little bit funky, so ugly it's cute, and truthfully it's a bit of a genetic freak.  That goiter-like bulb that grows just above the ground with leaves growing out in a way that resembles a spaceship, is part of the stem that went a bit wild.  But kohlrabi, related to the apple, was so popular in Europe during the Middle Ages that the emperor Charlemagne required his peasant farmers to grow it!Here are some great ideas for using it in your own kitchen, from the New York Times.View the list »
Romanesco, or Roman cauliflower, has been around for centuries.  It's admired by mathematical types far and wide, as it grows in perfect fractals.  Every mini fractal is exactly like every other mini fractal.  Math geeks, if you can tear yourselves away from admiring the genetic perfection of this veggie, there's an additional bonus.  It pops to a bright lime green when roasted.  Brush individual fractals with olive oil, sprinkle with Italian spices, and roast as you would any regular cauliflower.

Women's Health newsletter

Related topics

Advertisement

If your family is leaving most of their vegetables on the plate, perhaps there's a reason. Despite the fact that dozens and dozens of varieties grow in gardens, large scale agriculture has reduced our most available options to a few types of tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers. Growing large volumes of a single variety of vegetable, makes those vegetables more affordable, but it also limits the choices we have when we shop.

As backyard gardening popularity has grown, and farmer's markets have become mainstream, access to more varieties of vegetables is gaining ground. Heirloom tomatoes, for example, have become so popular they are showing up in larger grocers.

If you see something that looks a little different, ask the farmer or produce manager how to use it. They are a great source of information and ideas. And buy them. As evidenced with heirloom tomatoes, even large grocers will move toward variety, if they know they'll be able to sell what they offer.

Take the plunge. If you add new shapes and colors to your menu, chances are, what you're cooking in your kitchen will become interesting again.

View the list
  • Romanesco, or Roman cauliflower, has been around for centuries.  It's admired by mathematical types far and wide, as it grows in perfect fractals.  Every mini fractal is exactly like every other mini fractal.  Math geeks, if you can tear yourselves away from admiring the genetic perfection of this veggie, there's an additional bonus.  It pops to a bright lime green when roasted.  Brush individual fractals with olive oil, sprinkle with Italian spices, and roast as you would any regular cauliflower.
  • It's a little bit funky, so ugly it's cute, and truthfully it's a bit of a genetic freak.  That goiter-like bulb that grows just above the ground with leaves growing out in a way that resembles a spaceship, is part of the stem that went a bit wild.  But kohlrabi, related to the apple, was so popular in Europe during the Middle Ages that the emperor Charlemagne required his peasant farmers to grow it!Here are some great ideas for using it in your own kitchen, from the New York Times.
  • Artists are artists because they love color.  They think the world needs more of it.  They are on to a great secret, too.  The more colorful something is, the more interesting it becomes.Cauliflower is great, and it is tasty.  But it is, well, a little WHITE.  Why not try a purple caulflower, or a yellow one?  Or a combination of both?  Paint your plate with colorful varieties of the veggies you know, and watch the interest grow!
  • On the scale of greens, chard's flavor and consistency lies midway between spinach and kale.  Kale a bit too hearty?  Spinach a bit passe?  Try rainbow chard, which can be used in many of your favorite recipes for both.  Those beautiful multicolored stems will give your dish a new pop that can create new favorites out of old recipes.  Here's a great recipe for a chard pesto with a Mexican kick.  
  • Is it a fruit?  Is it a vegetable?  Is it a garden love child?  No, it's a radish!  That looks like a watermelon on the inside. That is not nearly as spicy as other varieties of radish.  Use them like any other radish in a salad.  Or toss slices with olive oil and sea salt for a fun midday snack.  Got kids in the house?  Make them even more interesting by adding black sesame seeds to make them even more like the fruit they are named after.
  • It looks nasty and it has a horrible name in English, corn smut.  Even its Mexican name, huitlacoche, is the Aztec term for "raven excrement".  But huitlacoche, often referred to as Mexican truffles, is a delicacy starting to gain respect in Mexican restaurants specializing in real, traditional ingredients and recipes.  Huitlacoche is a fungus that grows on corn, and it has the earthy tone of more familiar edible fungi, mushrooms.  If you're feeling adventurous, it is available in canned form at Mexican grocers.  Otherwise, try it next time you're eating Mexican and see it on the menu.  You might be surprised!
  • Eat cactus?  The thorny stuff in your yard?  Absolutely!  Nopales, as the leaves of the edible prickly pear are known, are a Mexican dietary staple.  So much so that 40,000 pounds of nopales are exported, daily, from Mexico to Texas alone.If you're prickling from the idea of eating cactus, consider this.  Nopales are especially effective at reducing cholesterol, lowering blood glucose, and enhancing fullness in a way that helps with weight loss.  The stickers are easily removed, leaving pads that can be chopped up and used in traditional Mexican dishes like salsa and posole, or simply added to scrambled eggs and topped with salsa.Give them a try.  You know you want to.
View the list

, Beverly Hills Women's Health Examiner

Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist specializing in stress related illness and hormonal health. She founded the inCYST Institute for Hormone Health, which raises money for women's health issues, and created Hip Veggies, a collaboration with artists that...

Advertisement

Today's top buzz...