More Farmer’s Market Finds: How To Incorporate Avocados, Kohlrabi And Beets In Your Diet
Author:
Ellen Thomsen, MS, RD, LMNT, CDE, IFNCP™
Easy tips from our Farmers Market CB Presenting Sponsor, CHI Health.
Farmer’s Market Find: Kohlrabi
Today, we’re going to be talking about Kohlrabi! So, what is Kohlrabi? Kohlrabi is a vegetable that you’re going to find at your Farmers Market and is readily available year-round at your grocery store. However, if you want it at its best, then you’ll want to look for it right around the middle of spring to fall.
Kohlrabi has a leafy portion at the top and then the bulb portion at the bottom, and usually comes in a pack of three or four. The leaves are edible as well – you can chop them, sauté them with some garlic and oil, or even blend them up into a smoothie! The bulb is what’s going to probably taste the best – it’s crispy and fresh tasting.
How to Cut Kohlrabi
Start by cutting off both ends because it is thick it’ll be harder to cut.
Then place the leaves to the side, you’ll want to save those for sautéing with oil garlic and herbs. Trust us, it’ll be delicious!
Then what you’ll want to do is place the flat side down and then we’re just going to peel off the outside. Because of its thick skin you’ll want to peal it all the way around until you start to see the white fleshy inside color.
What you want to do is to cut it really thin if you’re going to eat it raw. You can also put it in with some humus or dips. Nice, easy and thin.
If you’re going to roast it or bake it, you’ll want to cut it a little bit thicker.
Health Benefits of Kohlrabi
The good thing about Kohlrabi is that it is really rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is really important for skin health and immune function. See how you can incorporate more Kohlrabi into your recipes this year!
Farmer’s Market Find: Beets
Today, we’re going to be talking about beets! Beets have an earthy taste to them, but they are also very adaptable for any recipe. You can eat them raw, you can pickle them, or you can roast and bake them. Whatever you prefer, beets are a healthy vegetable to add to your recipes!
With a really nice deep red color, beets are not only beautiful to look at, but they are also really rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, which is really important for skin health and immune function. Another thing that beet lovers can benefit from is improvements in blood pressure, which can be achieved by eating the whole vegetable or drinking beet juice.
How to Prep Beets:
Cut off and place the leaves off to the side to be washed for later use. You can sauté them, add them to smoothies, use them in place of spinach or kale or into whatever recipe that you’re making. You can also freeze them for use at a later time.
As you are getting ready to prepare for cutting your beets, please remember that deep purple red color may stain your fingers temporarily or even the surface your cutting on. So, a helpful tool you could use would be food grade gloves to keep your hands from turning purple.
Begin by cutting the top part off the beet first.
Then, start to peel off the hard outer skin with a peeler or a knife.
If you don’t want to mess with peeling them, you can wrap it in foil and bake it in the oven, which will loosen the skin and just be able to peel off nicely. (Just note: that is going to probably leave a little bit more spilling of that purple color on your hands).
Overall, adding beets to your diet can provide health benefits, new flavors and even more color to your recipes!
Farmer’s Market Find: Avocado
It’s time to chat about avocados! A medium sized avocado has about 250 calories and 4 grams of monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are really helpful for heart health. They decrease “bad cholesterol” (LDL cholesterol) and they can help improve inflammation in the body.
The beauty of avocados is that they can be used in many types of dishes to add creaminess to sweet treats like smoothies or homemade ice cream.
How to Prep an Avocado:
- You can also throw them into a wrap, burrito bowl or a stir fry. Just be aware that when you’re cutting an avocado, to hold it carefully because they can roll around.
- Then, cut it and rotate the avocado around on the cutting board.
- Once that’s done, you can twist it apart and you’ll notice you can see that pit. Just remember you’ll want to keep that if you’re not going to eat the whole avocado at one time. All you need to do is sprinkle a little bit of lime or lemon juice on it and then wrap it up and keep it in the fridge. That should keep the avocado fresh for about a day and that juice is going to help preserve it from browning on the inside.
At the end of the day, finding the right diet for you can be hard to do if you don’t know what you like. So, give these farmer’s market finds a try.
For more questions, reach out to our CHI Health Nutrition Services team, or check out some of our other farmer’s market finds!
