The Most Common Reason that People Don’t Eat Winter Vegetables

The Right Fit Fitness/ Vitamin K Nutrition Newsletter – December 2009

The Most Common Reason that People Don’t Eat Winter Vegetables

Vegetables that are in season this time of year are the least expensive vegetables. Yet, many people choose expensive vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes and bell peppers. Why do people choose to make their grocery dollar buy less?

They don’t know how to cook the veggies that are in season.

Two categories of veggies are in season in the winter – storage veggies and greens. See the list below for examples of these veggies.

Current science tells us that these are the healthiest veggies. Canada’s Food Guide recommends eating one green and one orange veggie each day. 

There are so many great ways to prepare these veggies that even the most in-experienced cook can easily prepare. As their name suggests, storage veggies keep really well for a long time – so you don’t have to worry about them going bad before you use them. Storage veggies take longer to cook. They do great roasted in the oven or in soups and stews. They also store well once they’re cooked. Take advantage and make a big batch and freeze or refrigerate leftovers for lunches or future dinners. I often cut up veggies and get them roasting on an afternoon or evening when I’m at home doing chores. I slide them into the oven, set the timer for 30 min later, and go off to do my chores (or even watch a movie). When the timer goes off I check on the veggies and re-set the timer for 15 or so more minutes. When cooked, I simply let them cool off a bit, transfer them to Tupperware containers and place them in the fridge and/ or freezer. Currently in my deep-freeze, I have a number of pieces of a huge squash in individual serving-size Tupperware containers.

Greens are perfect for quick meals. The leafy greens like spinach, kale, Swiss Chard, and the Asian greens, are excellent in stir-frys and pastas. The secret to great-tasting greens is not to over-cook them! Add them to your stir-fry or pasta when the rest of the veggies are almost done. Cook the greens until they just wilt and are bright green in colour. If they are a dull olive-green you have cooked them too long and they’ll taste bitter.      

Vegetables in Season

Storage Vegetables:

• squash,
• potatoes,
• sweet potatoes,
• yams,
• turnips,
• rutabaga,
• beets,
• carrots,
• parsnips,
• celery root (celeriac),
• Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes),
• onions,
• garlic

Greens:

• spinach,
• kale,
• Swiss chard,
• Collard greens,
• Asian greens like bok choy, gai lan and sui choy,
• cabbage,
• Brussels sprouts,
• cauliflower,
• broccoli