Carrots Nutrients and Health Benefits

CarrotsHere it is again, another rewritten article. Like I said before in one or more of my previous articles that some of my very old articles were not created and/or put together as organized as the recent ones. My old article about carrots can be found here – Carrots Nutrients and Benefits. So, let’s sit back, relax, and begin our new and updated research on carrots.

Carrots are in the family of Apiaceae and their binomial name is Daucus Carota. Carrot is considered as a Root Vegetable. In Russian carrots are called Markovka, and the actual Russian word looks like this – Марковка. Make sure to pronounce the R or roll your R’s in Markovka the Spanish or Russian way and not the English way. (I’m still having trouble saying the letter R the English way, but I’m working on it).

Carrots come in multiple different colors like; Red, Yellow, Orange, White, Light Purple, and Dark Purple. Depending on the environment, mature carrots can be kept after picking for about three to four weeks, but the young carrots can only survive for about two weeks. If you want to make the carrot’s shelf life longer, make sure to remove their green tops.

Did you know that the tops of the carrots are also edible? I really didn’t know that. Hmm… Interesting. The Orange part of the carrot is called a Taproot. Some people claim that Carrots are very good companion plants, especially in tomato production, because the white carrot’s flowers attract wasps which help protect the tomatoes from different kinds of pests.

People around the world enjoy carrots in very many ways like; chopping, boiling, frying, steaming, or by just eating them raw and fresh. You can use or cook carrots in soups, stews, salads, cakes, puddings, rice, and baby foods. The Nutrients in one cup (or 128 grams) of Raw Chopped Carrots are: Continue reading

Red Yellow Green Peppers Nutrients and Health Benefits

Sweet Bell PeppersHave you seen the Red, Yellow, and Green Bell Peppers in your local grocery stores? Have you ever bought them or used them for your meals? Well, I used them and sometimes still do for my soups, salads, or whatever I can use them in. I really like the taste of the red sweet bell pepper, then I’d say the yellow one is next in line of taste for me, and then the green one. What is kind of annoying to me is that the red ones are the most expensive ones in stores. For salads I would recommend fresh peppers, but for the soups or cooked meals I usually use the frozen ones that are already chopped into strips and the package I buy at Wal-Mart has all three colors in it.

These Bell Peppers are from species called Capsicum Annuum and are called sometimes as Sweet Peppers. Usually these peppers are Red, Yellow, or Green, but from time to time people can get or find an orange pepper or even a purple one. Bell Peppers taste kind of sweet and kind of bitter, the red ones seem to me a little sweeter than others. People from around the world cook these peppers in many different ways, some eat them fresh and alone without anything else, some enjoy them in fresh salads, some put them in stir fry dishes or soups, and some stuff them with ground meat and cook them that way to enjoy it later. Continue reading

Wasabi Root Nutrients and Health Benefits

Wasabi Root.Many people are used to seeing wasabi in a form of a green paste and usually by sushi dishes. But in real life Wasabi is pretty much another Vegetable plant that is also known as Japanese Horseradish, or Wasabia Japonica, or Cochlearia wasabi, or Eutrema japonica. Wasabi is a member of the Brassicaceae family, in other words, it’s in the same family as Mustard, Horseradish, and Cabbage. Typically Wasabi is used as a condiment, especially for sushi and/or rice. Since it’s pretty difficult and expensive to grow and keep wasabi plants, people began to make a very similar tasting product called Western Wasabi which consists of Western Horseradish, Mustard, and Green Food Coloring.

Usually people can buy the Wasabi roots, Wasabi leaves, or Wasabi paste. The root should normally be grated, ground, or sliced before consuming it. When you decide to enjoy some of the Wasabi Paste with your sushi or other foods, then make sure that you don’t wait for too long before eating it because the flavor of Wasabi in Wasabi paste begins to evaporate after about 15 minutes. Also, remember to take just a little at a time of Wasabi Paste into your mouth, because if you take too much then you’ll feel it burn your tongue and maybe your nose. Continue reading

Roselle – Hibiscus Nutrients and Health Benefits

Roselle - Hibiscus Drink.In this article I would like to talk about a very unique plant called Roselle, or Rosella Fruit, or Binomially speaking Hibiscus Sabdariffa. This annual or perennial herb is one of the species of Hibiscus. The fruit of Roselle plant become mature in about six months and that is when it gets beautiful bright red color. While still immature, this plant can have whitish or yellowish colors with a dark reddish spot at the bottom of each petal. The stem of the Roselle plant is cultivated for the production of Bast Fiber or Skin Fiber which is then used to make burlap (Woven Fabric, Gunny Cloth, or Coarse Fabric).

Roselle plant has been and still is considered as an AntiHypertensives (used to treat hypertension or high blood pressure), Mild Laxative (used to induce bowel movements), and Diuretic (used to elevate the rate of urination to treat drug overdose or poisoning). The Red Calyces or Sepals of this plant are used by some countries for food colorings, for flowers, for syrups, for jams, or for many different kinds of drinks. And the green leaves of Roselle can be used for salads, for curry, for teas, for lotions, for wounds, and for sores. Continue reading

Rhubarb Nutrients and Health Benefits

Rhubarb VegetableI believe that I have never tried Rhubarb or Rheum Rhabarbarum vegetable, so that means I really don’t know how it tastes. Not too long ago one of my relatives offered me to try one of these Rhubarb vegetable stalks, but since I wasn’t sure about this vegetable I decided not to try it. In Russian language Rhubarb is called Pевень. Some people refer to Rhubarb as a vegetable but some refer to it as a fruit because of the regulation, duties, and tax purposes. Some people from around the world prefer to eat Rhubarbs raw and some prefer to cook it. Just to warn you, the leaves on this vegetable are toxic, so try to avoid eating them. People claim that fresh and raw stalks from Rhubarb are as crisp as a Celery and that they have a strong tart taste to them.

Rhubarb vegetable is grown either on fields or in Heated Greenhouses or Hothouses. People believe that the Rhubarbs from a Hothouse are more sweater and more tender than the cultivated Rhubarb vegetable. Some people think that Rhubarb is an excellent choice for jams, but you must remember to add some kind of a natural sweetener to it while boiling it. Since Rhubarb sauce was and still is used a lot in some pies, people refer to it as a Pie Plant. The most common fruit that people use for cooking together with the Rhubarb vegetable is Strawberry.

The Nutrients in a Cup or 122 grams of Raw Diced Rhubarb Stalks are: Continue reading

Parsnip Nutrients and Health Benefits

Parsnip Root VegetableDid you know that there is a root vegetable that really looks like a Carrot, but it’s not orange and it isn’t rich in Vitamin A like the carrot is. This root vegetable is called Parsnip (Pastinaca Sativa). Parsnips are usually either white, brown, pale, or yellow in color and they taste a little sweeter than carrots. Yes, parsnips can be eaten raw, but most people prefer it being cooked. Pretty much people cook Parsnips the way you would cook a carrot or a potato, which means it could be fried, roasted, boiled, put in salads, stews, soups, or casseroles.

Parsnip RootParsnips grow bigger and have better flavor if they are grown in colder countries, but there must be good healthy soil in order to accomplish that. In Roman times some people believed that Parsnip was an Aphrodisiac vegetable which means it increased sexual desire. Since Parsnip is so rich in Vitamins, Minerals, and Nutrients people use it for baby food products. The Nutrients in a cup (133 grams) of Raw Sliced Parsnips are: Continue reading

Nopal Cactus Nutrients and Health Benefits

Nopal Cactus Nopalea OpuntiaIf you have been in Mexico for about a week or more, then you most likely heard of, seen, or even tried their very popular meals with Nopales. These meals could consist of Meat with Nopales, Eggs with Nopales, Tacos with Nopales, or a salad that is made with Nopal Cactus. Nopales must be prepared properly to make sure that all of the Glochids, Spines, and the Outer Layer are removed prior to eating or even cooking.

Nopal Cactus is also know to have names like Fruit of Prickly Pears, Cactus Fruit, Cactus Fig, Indian Fig, Tuna, Opuntia, Nopalitos, Nopalea, or Paddle Cactus. Nopal or Opuntia contains a large number of species which are sometimes hard to tell apart from each other. People from around the world use Opuntia or Nopal Cactus for Medical purpouses, Food, Decorations, Cultural purposes, Dye uses, and even for Construction purpouses. The Nutrients in a cup (149 grams) of Cooked without salt Nopales are: Continue reading

Lotus Nutrients and Health Benefits

Cooked Lotus Roots

Have you heard of a name Lotus? What comes to your mind when you hear this word “Lotus”? Do you imagine a car, or a flower, or food? Well, believe it or not, but yes there are Lotus Cars, Flowers, and people even eat Lotus. No, people don’t eat Lotus cars, they eat Lotus roots which come from Lotus Flowers.

The flower of a Lotus PlantThe Lotus flower that I’m talking about is also called Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or Binomialy speaking Nelumbo Nucifera, Nelumbium Seciosum, or Nymphaea Nelumbo, but NOT just Nymphaea which is a Water Lily. This Lotus flower is considered as an aquatic perennial plant.

Lotus’s roots grow in the bottom of the river or a pond and the leaves usually float on top of the surface of water. The flower itself, using a thick stem, rises a little higher then the water’s surface. A very unique feature of this flower which was observed and documented is that in cool temperatures of like 10 degrees Celcius (50 degrees Feirenheit) Lotus flower is able to keep or regulate its own temperature of like 35 degrees Celcius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Continue reading

Epazote Nutrients and Health Benefits

Epazote Herb and Leaf VegetableHave you ever heard of Epazote plant? Well, I didn’t, until I did this little research :) Epazote is sometimes called Wormseed, Mexican Tea, Jesuit Tea, or Binomially speaking Dysphania Ambrosioides which formerly had a name of Chenopodium Ambrosioides. Epazote plant can grow as tall as 3.9 feet or 1.2 meters. Epazote can be used as a herb with a strong flavor or as a leaf vegetable. The leaves of Epazote plant can grow as long as 4.7 inches or 12 centimeters. People use Epazote for Agricultural, Culinary, and Medicinal needs. The Nutrients of Raw Epazote in one ounce or 28 grams are: Continue reading

Dandelion Nutrients and Benefits

Yellow Dandelion Flower
Dandelion is an edible weed or herb which is usually considered as an unwanted and annoying plant that must be destroyed and disposed of. But, after reading my research article about Dandelion Plant, you are most likely going to think Positive thoughts about it instead of Negative. Dandelion’s name is taken from French dent-de-lion which means Lion’s Tooth. Dandelions don’t need pollination, because they produce seeds asexually by apomixis. Also, just so you know, I’m talking about the good, healthy, fresh, and natural Dandelions, and NOT about the poisonous and chemical treated Dandelions that are dying in your yard because you have been trying to kill them your whole life.

Dandelions have very strong and long roots that can go very deep under the ground which may support the growth of weaker plants that grow near by Dandelions. The leaves on Dandelions can grow as long as 25 cm or 9.8 inches, and usually stay at the very bottom of the plant. Dandelion’s stem is hollow and can be longer than 10 cm or 3.9 inches, and when it gets broken then the milky bitter sap comes out. Dandelion’s flower heads are usually yellow or orange and they consist of many skinny long petals. After a while Dandelion’s flower heads become white and full of little parachutes and each one of these light and little parachutes hold on to its own seed.

Dandelion weed herb is extremely health beneficial, but it is often unappreciated especially by “Perfect Green Lawn Addicts”. Dandelion flower buds, leaves, and the roots have all been used for Medicinal and Food purposes throughout the world. Just one cup of Raw Dandelion Greens contain 535 percent of Vitamin K. People can either eat the dandelion leaves boiled or raw depending on person’s opinion and taste. Some people and cultures use Dandelion’s Roots for a natural caffeine-free dandelion coffee. The Nutrients in one cup (or 55 grams) of Chopped Raw Dandelion Greens are: Continue reading