The only things that nature creates that resembles a rainbow. Whoever looked at an eggplant and decided to eat it should be praised. Vegetables of full of tons of nutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and taste amazing to boot! They can stand beautifully on their own, some pair well with each other and other food groups, and visually can take a plate from bland to ” eat me now”. There are so many ways to prepare them from sauté, boil, roast, bake, steam, grill, and sous-vide. For my fodmap people, there are a ton of ways to prepare veggies that do not bother you, trust me you will get creative!
Please note that all vegetables should be purchased organic, preferably from a local farmers market:
Zucchini: Yellow and Green are the easiest to find. The tiny ones are amazing just boiled with olive oil, salt, and lemon but avoid the ones that need the strength of two arms to pick up- those contain too much fiber to easily digest for most normal people. I prefer the yellow quartered and roasted in the oven or raw. As for it’s greener sister, take it anyway you like! Spiraled, chopped, shredded, baked, or fried. Zucchini is surprisingly full of Omega-3 fatty acids and high in antioxidants.
Micro Greens: The best way to add a visual appeal to your plate, these also serve a larger purpose than just being beautiful. Tender little greens, micro greens are the mini me versions of the fully developed stuff such as radishes, broccoli, kale, arugula, peas, and scallions to name a few. The first shoots that come up when the vegetable is in the process of growing, they are all low fodmap so you get the flavor of something you may typically not be able to consume. As if that wasn’t enough for you to try them, they have more vitamins and antioxidants than the adults do. I can eat them but the bucket.
Eggplant: While this is technically a berry, and proves it when baked into brownies, lets consider it a veg for ease of use. Since it soaks up any sauce its placed in like miso or tomato, this also applies to oil. If your trying to limit your oil in take, a helpful tip is to salt the eggplant before which does not allow it to soak up as much of the oil and reduces the naturally bitter flavor.
Kabocha Squash: Super high in Vitamin A, one serving of this fiber full veggie clocks in at 70% of your daily needs. Whats even better about it, you can eat the skin. Its a bit difficult to hack into when raw so if you want to turn it into a soup, dip, or fry it, roast it in a 350 F oven until fork tender ( about 30-40 minutes)
Spaghetti Squash: So much fun to eat! When cut in half and roasted, the inside can be pulled with a fork and you get these little strands that look like a saffron and pasta had a love affair. Because of its mild flavor it can handle any sauce thrown at it. Its also great in baked veggie fritters.
Delicata Squash: Like kabocha, this squash has an edible skin. Go for the oblong version and keep the skin on for extra fiber a texture play in your mouth, keeps things interesting. Its benefits include Vitamin A, iron and calcium.
Radish: Use the greens! Yes, the radishes should come with greens if your buying right. They are delicious chopped up and boiled with your grain of choice and a dab of fat. The tasty little red parts are fantastic raw and can detox your liver if you’ve been indulging in lots of vino lately. You can cut them in half with a bit of butter, honey, thyme and salt and roast ’em too!
Peppers: All bell pepper go with pretty much every meal I can think of, except for baked goods maybe, thats one I would avoid ( unless its baked egg cups, then they would be great). Love the hot ones as well, jalapeño, cayenne, habanero, and pepperoncini.
Carrots: The orange variety have a ton of Vitamin A and anti-aging properties so eat or drink up some fresh carrot juice to combat metabolic aging! You should avoid eating these raw, because you wont soak up as many of the benefits they offer. The purple ones contain the same properties as the orange, but have more antioxidants in them. Purple juice anyone?
Ginger: Flavor-bomb. 100%. Adding this to any soup, stew, fish, or stir-fry can give it a distinct spicy note. Ginger is often praised for its ability to ease digestion and nausea while boosting immunity and stimulating hunger.
Potato: Since my aversion to bananas runs deep, potatoes actually have more potassium than they do! They are also full of Vitamin C and help you stay full for hours.
Sweet Potato: Can be used like you would a potato and then take it a step further. Sweet potatoes have more antioxidants and Vitamins than the regular ones, and in my opinion are more versatile. But be careful, they turn anything that doesn’t have chocolate in it a nice orange hue.
Green Beans: If buying these from the farmers market, you’ll have to go through the process of trimming the ends and removing the little thread along the bean. It is the one type of legume that tends to be okay on the fodmap, love it already! They are high in Vitamin C and K, fiber and aide in getting rid of free radicals, so in essence could help fight cancer. I never crave them, so usually have a bag of organic frozen ones in the freezer for when the fridge is looking e m p t y.
Cucumber: The only real way I believe to eat this is raw, or you can drink its juice as its mostly water (about 95%). Abundant in Vitamin A and C, folic acid, and it fights inflammation.
Fennel: Those who know me well, I love anything licorice. So of course this one had to be on the list even though its not always in the fridge. You can cook it by slicing it into quarters, drizzling with olive oil, salt & pepper, and roasting until tender. If your going for the raw version, slice it on a mandolin or grate it and eat less so it does not bother your stomach.
Greens: This is a big one. Radicchio and Endive are quite bitter and I only really like the latter broiled, so they didn’t cut the list. Below are my favorites:
- Rocket (Arugula): If your lucky enough to find the long stemmed version, those have the most pepper flavor, delicious even without dressing
- Dandelion Greens: Boil and serve with olive oil and lemon
- Romaine
- Spinach