Winter vegetables and greens

What are the vegetables that we recommend this Winter?

As I have already told you on occasion, eating seasonal food is key to your diet and your pocket.

Currently we can find in the super of almost all the year, but what are really the foods that we should eat in each season of the year?

Winter is coming and with it new vegetables prepared for you to enjoy with or without a blanket and peli. This winter season that begins on December 22nd and ends on March 21st , brings us up or down a lot of possibilities to cook yummy vegetables. Are you going to miss them?

Advantage

Eating seasonal vegetables is a must for our diet and our daily lives. In winter you have to be prepared for the flu, cold waves, colds, heat, storms and snow.

The best way to stock up for the cold is to shelter yourself inside and out, so for you to do it inside, I will tell you which are the vegetables that will take care of you this winter and those that you want .

Turnip

• It is the richest vegetable in calcium. It is from the cruciferous family, such as cauliflower or broccoli, and there are many different varieties.
• The flavor that the turnip brings to any stew is sublime, I daresay it is the key to any vegetable stew or soup. Currently we consume more other tubers such as potatoes, but we should not forget this powerful vegetable.
• The turnip provides very few carbohydrates, has 28 calories and a total of 0.1 fat . You should also know that they help control weight due to its low caloric value and regulate intestinal function due to its high fiber content, which also prevents and improves blood cholesterol.

Turnip greens

• That is what the turnip leaves are called . This rich vegetable with a unique flavor typical in Galicia and other northern areas.
• Turnip greens are rich in vitamins A, K, C and B9 . In addition to containing iron, calcium, protein, fiber, potassium, iodine, zinc, magnesium and carbohydrates. Within all this nutritional contribution, turnip greens are rich in folic acid so they help smokers to improve their absorption.
• Its best season is from November to February, with January and February being the best months to taste them.
• In Galicia we not only eat lacón with turnip tops , we also eat steamed porridge with chorizo, cream of turnip tops , turnip omelette , botillo with potatoes and turnip tops , cannelloni with turnip tops and even pizza with turnip tops!
• It is necessary to enjoy them that they are not all the year and they are very rich. To take off the jumpsuit you can buy them packaged, but there is nothing like taking them naturally.

Cauliflower

• Cauliflowers are cold season plants, they like winter, even so, the most important thing is that the flowering time does not coincide with very hot months or with frosts.
• The cauliflower season in Spain takes place from November to April, although sometimes we can also enjoy this vegetable in advance during October, depending on the area of ​​Spain where it is grown.
• Cauliflower is a vegetable that tends to reject. One of its reasons is the smell it gives off when it’s cooked. But cauliflower is a great food that barely gets fat and that you surely have forgotten.
• It stands out for its high content in water (89%), minerals (potassium and calcium, mainly; although also magnesium in a lower proportion), vitamins (vitamin C or ascorbic acid, folic acid and niacin) and fiber.
• We are very fans of cauliflower at home and that is reflected in all the recipes you can find on it, from cauliflower gratin with bechamel , the traditional baked cauliflower , in the form of fritters or why not, as the basis of a pizza .

Lombarda

• With that color, who can resist? It is probably one of the most colorful vegetables in winter. Red cabbage, or cabbage, is a vegetable with a high content of anthocyanins, the pigment responsible for its purple color.
• It is good for visual health , since these enzymes protect the capillaries of the retina, making it recommended for people with problems with tired eyesight, glaucoma or diabetes.
• It is diuretic thanks to its high content of potassium and helps prevent rheumatic diseases or arthritis.
• Combat obesity and improves the immune system for its high vitamin C content . It is highly recommended during pregnancy.
• In my last direct creation from Hawaii I used red cabbage and it gave my salmon poke a yummy one.

Artichoke s

• All year waiting for you. How I like artichokes, I wish they were good all year, but no. In fact, artichokes are not so easy to find out of season.
• Its harvest season and best consumption period occurs from November to March. Winter suits the queen of Tudela. And we can find it in the market from October until the late collection in May. Not only in Tudela you will find artichokes, “ alcacil, alcacil, arcansil or alcaucil ”, the Murcians call their artichokes, which are the first of the season in Autumn .
• They are the friends of the detox diets and the detox in general . Its properties make it one of the most effective tools for weight loss, but it also has many other beneficial qualities for the body, such as helping to control cholesterol, fighting constipation due to its high fiber content and, in addition, it has multiple vitamins and minerals.
• The artichoke contains about 90% water. Fat barely reaches 0.1% of its weight and the rest is fiber, carbohydrates, proteins and other substances.
• You can take them battered in sauce , fried and crispy , in rice with Valencian-style ribs , pickled, with bechamel , with prawns , with ham and hard-boiled egg and whatever you can think of. Either way, eat artichokes, all you can and enjoy its benefits and flavor.

Brussels sprouts

• Raw of cauliflower and broccoli , Brussels sprouts are one of the most nutritious vegetables that we know with a variety of minerals so that this winter you boast excellent health.
• Its fetish times are both autumn and winter, which is when they are at their maximum splendor and will provide you with all the energy that the hours of light take away from you.
• Brussels sprouts have vitamin E and C, folic acid, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iodine, and selenium. What is said soon …
• They improve digestive function as they help satiate the digestive system and contain a lot of fiber. And like the red cabbage they improve vision.
• In case you need some tips on how to confine them correctly, here is an article that may interest you.

Spinach

We find a highly nutritious vegetable. Green is the fashionable color of Winter.

• Surely when talking about spinach, the first thing that comes to mind is Popeye, right? Thanks to these animated drawings we have managed to make this vegetable fashionable for a generation.
• Leaving Popeye aside, he is somewhat right. Spinach is an excellent natural resource of vitamins, fibers and minerals, low in calories and fat-free.
• It is also rich in phytonutrients, especially beta-carotene and lutein, making it a vegetable with antioxidant properties. Its stems are richer in fiber than the leaves, which provide plenty of calcium.
• Seasonal spinach occurs between the months of Autumn and Spring. Winter being the best season for consumption.
• You also have a lot of ideas on the blog to cook them, from a rich spinach cream , some spinach noodles or a salad with cottage cheese and strawberries or melon.

Chard

• Other queens of the cold months are Swiss chard, although we can enjoy them as well as spinach until spring.
• Fresh chard is a vegetable that must be consumed once we have bought it, as are turnip greens and spinach, for example. At most we should consume it 3 to 5 days after getting them. If you want to freeze it you cannot do it as it is, you must blanch it for two or three minutes before this step.
• They are a rich source of copper, calcium, potassium, iron and phosphorous as well as soluble fiber, which helps intestinal transit, such as bifidus. It provides omega 3 , which favors cholesterol reduction and has vitamins A, B, C, E and K. Wow, its vitamins almost reach the zeta.
• Swiss chard is perfect for any stew, for simple braised Swiss chard , for a delicious dinner with a Swiss chard omelette or accompanied by traditional lentils .

Beet

• Red beets are available on the market throughout the year. During winter they are produced in the northern, central and eastern regions, while in spring and summer their production is centered in the Andalusia area. Its best season begins in March until May.
• Beets taste earthy, musty, and their flavor is unmistakable every time you use it in your culinary creations.
• It is one of the vegetables that gives us the most energy and its high sugar content, specifically sucrose, makes it a very healthy option in our dishes.
• From the beet we can take advantage of both the root and its leaves . Its intense color means that the elaborations that we make with it are never indifferent.
• Some people cook their leaves and eat them like the rest of vegetables with dressings or stews, since thanks to their high iron content they are very beneficial for the immune system.
• As you know you can take it raw, striped, in salad or boiled, because it is a very strong vegetable but at the same time light and easy to digest.
• For a while now, you can also find beets in countless vegan desserts, biscuits or the acclaimed and well-known red velvet.

In short … in winter

If you weren’t ready for winter yet, I hope I have helped you a little more and given you some ideas so that you can keep eating yummy in all seasons of the year.

In the end you know, eating seasonal food is good, healthy and cheap!

Enjoy it!