Post 18 | Fresh Local Produce in December
Continuing with our theme of root vegetables this winter. December brings us two veggies that must be dug out of the ground - Carrots and Shallots. Check out the last post for local produce.
Many people write off carrots as a sweet, less healthy vegetable. Not so! - Like out parsnips from last month.
Carrots are low in calories and are a great source of potassium, vitamin K, beta-carotene, and fiber.
They are another easy vegetable to grow in a home garden and can be harvested throughout the fall and winter months. One of my favorite ways to cook carrots is to roast them with a host of other root vegetables like parsnips, butternut squash, and potatoes. Add in seasonal herbs and spices (thyme, sage, cinnamon, cayenne) and you can change the flavor very easily.
These unassuming veggies are great raw or cooked (you know I love a combo of raw and cooked for nearly every veg) and can change from season to season based on the flavors you put with them. Also try purple, yellow, and red carrots for a different nutrient profile and a different flavor.
Like many other veg, anyone with heart failure, on a blood thinner, or with chronic kidney disease should check with their healthcare provider before drastically increasing their intake of these root vegetables.
Shallots are an allium. Alliums like garlic, onions, scallion, chives are powerful plants known for their cancer fighting abilities and ability to enhance the flavor of nearly any food. They look like smaller, pointy reddish onions, but have cloves like garlic.
Nutritionally, shallots are rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, folate and very low in calories.
Pick a nice heavy shallot, break off one clove, dice it up small and saute it in a couple of tablespoons of ghee or olive oil and it is the perfect base to any sauce or root vegetable dish.
While those on the low FODMAP diet think they need to avoid all onions and garlic, in fact, shallots are relatively low FODMAP. So, find your tolerance level for shallots and add them back into your life!
Even if you do not have issues digesting onions, I would recommend giving shallots a try. They are lower in sugar, higher in phytonutrients, and have a unique taste that is somewhere between a mild onion and a clove of garlic.
