Category — Vivacious Veggies

It’s that time of year…pumpkins on the doorstep, pumpkins as centerpieces, and yes, pumpkin on the menu!

Pumpkin is often referred to as a “superfood” because it’s so incredibly nutritious. Yet I know many people who have carved a pumpkin yearly their entire lives but never actually cooked and eaten one (no, pumpkin pie from the supermarket is not quite the same).

Pumpkin is a low-calorie food that contains protein, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene. It also contains powerful antioxidants known as carotenoids, which have the ability to reduce the risk of various types of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Choosing & Storing Pumpkins

Pumpkins come in the big carving variety (which yes, can be eaten if you scoop out the seeds and pulp, then scrap away as much of the flesh as you can while still leaving a shell for carving) and many other smaller varieties which are better for eating, such as the small, orange sugar pie pumpkins, pale beige, ribbed cheese pumpkins, flat, vibrant red French pumpkins, and round, heirloom Winter Luxury pumpkins.

You should choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy, because they dry out and become lighter as they age. The shells should be hard with no cracks or soft spots. Pumpkins will keep for up to a month if you store them in a cool, dry place. Once you cut them, pumpkins should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated, and used within 4 days.

This year, don’t miss out! You can enjoy your pumpkin any number of ways. Check out the recipes below, and be sure to subscribe to my monthly email newsletter and receive my new pumpkin muffin recipe in this month’s edition, coming out soon!

• Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Lasagna - Real Simple
• Pumpkin Risotto – Food & Wine
  
• Quinoa and Corn Salad with Pumpkin Seeds – Whole Living
• Black Bean and Roasted Pumpkin Salad - PumpkinRecipes.org
• Creamy Pumpkin with Millet – Hangry Pants
• Primal Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies – This Primal Life
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte - The Kitchn
• Pumpkin and Chicken Chowder – Country Living
  

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Cucumbers to me are a quintessential summer food: they are sweet, cooling, and refreshing! As the summer winds down, now is the time to grab ‘em while you can, whether from your garden, the farmers’ market, or the local section of your grocery store, and enjoy.

“Cool as a cucumber” is not just a clever phrase. Cucumbers literally cool the body, because they are 95% water, making them a fabulous source of natural hydration and a natural diuretic. As I wrote in the September Truly Vibrant newsletter that went out today, even with the hot summer coming to a close, adequate hydration is very important!

Adding cucumber (with the skin on!) to your salads will do more than just add a nice crunch. It’s a wonderful way to increase your fiber intake because cucumber not only contains fiber in the skin, but it comes naturally prepackaged with the extra fluid you need when consuming more fiber.

More great ways to add some hydrating, refreshing cucumbers into your day are to put some cucumber slices into a smoothie or into your daily water.

In case you need more motivation to enjoy cucumbers…

• Cucumbers are a digestive aid: they contain erepsin, the enzyme that helps to digest protein.
• Cucumber, and particularly cucumber juice, promotes hair growth due to the high silica content. The effect is increased when the juice is added to the juice of carrot, lettuce and spinach.
• Cucumber juice is also often recommended to improve the complexion and health of the skin, again because of the silica content, plus cucumber’s high water content.
• The high mineral content of cucumbers helps to prevent splitting of finger and toenails.
• 1 cup of cucumbers contains nearly 10% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C.
• Cucumbers contain high levels of potassium and manganese, which help regulate blood pressure and help promote nutrient functions, respectively.
• Cucumbers contain ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and caffeic acid, which prevent water retention (this is why cucumbers applied topically are often helpful for swollen eyes, burns and dermatitis!)

Buying & Storage Tips

Look for slender, firm, dark green cucumbers without any wrinkled or yellowed areas. To store, wrap cucumbers in paper towels and store in a plastic bag in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Here are a few cucumber recipes I’ve tried…the salad made an appearance at my house at least a few times each month this summer!

• Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
• Homemade Pickles
• Cucumber and Avocado Soup—still looking for feedback/advice on tweaking this one!
• Berry Lemonade Green Smoothie—Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
• Cucumber Basil Herbal Water—Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
  

Check out these recipes as well, and let me know if you find any new favorites!

• Cucumber Mint Soup—Whole Foods
• Cucumber and Black-Eyed Pea Salad—Eating Well
• Tomato-Cucumber Chutney—Food & Wine
• Cucumber Dill Soup—Slashfood
• Suzanne’s Perfect Cucumber Vinaigrette Salad—Modern Comfort Food

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I have to admit, before writing this post I didn’t have a lot of knowledge or experience when it comes to eggplant. I think it’s a beautiful vegetable and, sure,  I have been known to buy one at the farmers’ market, but typically then I get home and have no idea what to do with it!

Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of vegetables (along with tomatoes, sweet peppers, and potatoes). As with most vegetables these days, they can be found nearly year-round in the grocery store, but eggplants are in season from August through October, so this is when they will be at their best!

Eggplant provides us with dietary fiber, vitamins B1, B6, potassium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and folic acid. It also contains powerful phytonutrients, many of which are antioxidants. One such phytonutrient called nasunin is found in the skin of the eggplant. Nasunin is an antioxidant that has been shown to protect brain cell membranes from damage—it’s literally brain food! There have also been studies done which support claims that eggplant can help lower cholesterol and help manage type 2 diabetes by controlling glucose absorption and reducing associated high blood pressure.

Here’s another fun fact about eggplant: Thomas Jefferson introduced it to the U.S. in 1806!

Selecting and Storing Eggplant

Choose smooth, firm, glossy-skinned eggplants with bright green caps and stems. Regardless of color (they may be purple, white, green, pink, or even striped!), the color should be vivid, and you want to avoid any that are wrinkled, torn, bruised, or scarred or that have brown, dried caps. To test for ripeness, gently press the skin with the pad of your thumb. If it springs back, it is ripe, but if an indentation remains, it’s not. Store eggplants in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cooking Eggplant

To prepare to cook an eggplant, rinse it and trim off the green top. If it is large with a lot of seeds, or if the flesh is dark and watery, slice it and then sprinkle salt on it and place in a colander in your sink for 30 minutes and then rinse and proceed. This “sweating” process is not always necessary, but especially if you tend to find eggplant bitter, try it, because it will extract the bitter juices. It will also make the eggplant soak up less oil (if used) in cooking.

I don’t come across eggplant recipes too often, and when I do, most are either Eggplant Parmesan or Eggplant Lasagna, so I was pleasantly surprised to find those and many, many more creative uses for eggplant when I started hunting through my favorite sources.

• Rigatoni with Sauteed Eggplant and Tomatoes—Real Simple
• Eggplant and Artichoke White Lasagna—Whole Foods
• Roasted Eggplant Spread—Heather Eats Almond Butter
• Eggplant Poppers—Gluten Free Chow
• Eggplant Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta and Asiago—Real Simple
• Persian-Italian Eggplant Stew—Herbivoracious
• Vegan Eggplant Parmesan/Lasagna—With a Side of Sneakers
• Eggplant Lentil Soup—Foodie Reflections

Do you have a favorite eggplant recipe? Please share!