Excerpt from Bragg Vegetarian Health Recipes — Chapter 8
Click book title for more information
Vegetables and fruit, both raw or lightly cooked, are among the “curative” foods, and should represent at least three-fifths of the diet. These foods not only contribute vitamins and minerals to the diet, but add the fiber required for proper body functioning, in addition to helping maintain the alkaline reserve of the body. They add variety, color, tasty flavor and texture to your meals. For some people vegetables are an unappetizing, uninteresting food – sad loss! The customary method of over-cooking garden-picture vegetables and serving them straight from a pool of surplus cooking water is certainly an unappetizing way to serve nature’s gifts. Any cook with ingenuity can prepare a vegetable to be a beautiful delicacy. Properly prepared vegetables, raw or cooked, combined with delightful herb seasoning will enhance flavors and conserve vitamins, minerals, and food value. It is not necessary to prepare them with rich sauces or heavy spices. They can be standard items of fine food, exquisitely flavored and served in entirely new ways designed to excite the palate and nourish the body.
Cooking with herbs is a delightful and healthy experience. Herbs enhance the flavor of vegetables. The chapter on cooking with herbs and this vegetable section should be used interchangeably. Vegetables can become healthy delicacies rather than boring foods to be regarded with distaste.
Buying Organic Vegetables for Your Family
It is often very difficult to buy vegetables for a family of two or even four people without running the risk of having leftovers. Of all foods, vegetables have the least food value after they have been cooked and then stored. Vegetables are meant to be eaten as soon as possible after cooking, to obtain the utmost of their vitamin and mineral content. Avoid saving vegetables for a second meal or a second day. Instead buy wisely and cook carefully to avoid waste or leftovers.
