I’m on a quest to eat more whole foods this year, particularly more produce. There’s a lot of stuff out there that I’ve eaten at others’ homes, or at restaurants, but have never actually purchased or prepared myself.
It’s time to break out of my rut and test the waters with one new item each week.
I’d love to hear your suggestions for what to try. What are some of your favorites?
Tags: fruits, new year, vegetables, veggies, whole foods, whole grains
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Try some Jerusalem Artichokes, a.k.a. Sunchokes. They are a tuber, the root of the North American sunflower. The look like the love child of a potato and a ginger root, and have a texture similar to water chestnuts. Great in just about any prep you would use for a potato.
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Would this be a bad time to admit that I’ve always been kind of creeped out by the texture of water chestnuts?
I’ll definitely look into it. I need to expand my horizons.
i make a kale stir-fry for breakfast that’s a near-daily staple for me. i like playing with a basic start of a recipe and then branching out with different flavor combos. i did chopped salads all summer [based around cucumber, tomato, zucchini, & feta then going different directions with other ingredients]. now i’m playing with quinoa pilafs, adding different combos of chopped veggies or sauteed & flaked tilapia. get a reliable base going and see what flys.
i’ve been writing for LAist on seasonal foods, profiling a different ingredient each week with a collection of recipes and one of my own [you can see them all here: http://laist.com/profile/laist_heatherp%5D. i’d also suggest epicurious.com and just search on a main ingredient you want to try. and then seriouseats.com as more of a blog of great food ideas.
also, sometimes it’s the prep of the food that changes everything. i got a cheap & easy mandoline for thin slicing, and you can get an entirely different sense of enjoying food when it’s sliced thin. you can mix up all kinds of root veggies you wouldn’t normally eat raw with a vinaigrette, or throw some hot sauce on them and have lettuce tacos.
Thanks for the links and ideas, Heather. I’ll definitely check them out.
Speaking of quinoa and tacos, I just found this link to a recipe for quinoa as a taco filling. I think I’m going to try that.
http://gcdspa.blogspot.com/2011/01/vegetarian-tacos.html
Texture is a very powerful (and personal) element of food preferences. You might think about starting with foods you think you don’t like, and prep them in a way that changes texture. I learned this when our kids were born. We made all their food, and I got to know what everything tasted like out of the Robot Coupe (chicken = disgusting, to me). My surprise was brussel sprouts – I like them OK steamed, but turns out I LOVE them pureed. Since then I’ve discovered same thing about a number of foods. Anyway, cooked, Sunchokes are nothing like a watercress; they are more like a potato, or maybe a yucca. Bon Appetit published my artichoke soup recipe back in the 90’s, but they don’t appear to go back more than 10 years on their site. If you want it, I’ll find it (or make a new one, better yet)
Ah, the kiddo would have loved the pureed chicken. He practically lived on that for six months. Horrid.
Interesting point about changing the texture to change perspective. I’ll keep that in mind as I wander through the market this weekend.
I’ll take any and all recipes that you or anyone else would like to share!