Parsnip Nutritional Benefits

By Jeannine Davidoff 

Botanical name: Pastinaca sativum.
A parsnip looks like a white carrot, though its taste is entirely different. It is a fall vegetable that belongs to the Parsley family. Parsnip nutritional benefits are many and they are versatile, easy to grow and easy to cook with. They are powerful cancer fighters by helping to keep the digestive tract free of cancer causing matter.

Parsnip Nutritional Benefits

They include a high sugar and starch content.
This vegetable contains more fiber then most other vegetables
It's rich in Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
Parsnips provide the body with copper, manganese and folic acid.
Niacin, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium are all found in Parsnips.
They also help reduce high blood pressure, constipation and heart problems.

Tips on harvesting and cooking Parsnip

They can be baked, steamed, roasted and boiled.
Some people like to remove the peel when preparing them.
Boiled parsnips can be mashed and you can add a little butter, milk, salt and pepper for taste.
They can take up to three to four months to reach maturity before harvesting.
Make sure the ground is moist and loose before taking out the ground.
The stems will snap off at the root if the ground is hard and dry.
If it does happen to snap, use a fork to loosen the root to get it out of the ground.
Be careful that you do not damage the root when you dig around it.
Wash the roots well, removing any soil remaining on the vegetable.

Parsnip and Broad Bean Curry Soup

1 chopped onion
Curry powder / masala
Cumin seeds, aniseed, coriander seeds
3-4 parsnips (peeled and chopped)
1-2 cups dried broad beans (soaked overnight)
2-3 peeled and chopped potatoes
2-3 grated carrots
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying
Fry the onion, add curry and masala, cumin seeds, aniseed, coriander seeds to taste. Fry lightly. Stir and then add the vegetables and water, cook for 30-40 minutes, till the parsnips, beans and potatoes are tender. Add the garlic salt and pepper. Serve with home-baked bread. This is a delicious treat for a cold day.

How to Grow Parsnip for maximum nutritional benefits

The seed is a flat round brown seed, which you can scatter on the ground where you want them to grow.

Add lots of compost to the soil before you plant your parsnips. Use a fork to loosen the ground before sowing the seed, without turning the soil, so the roots can penetrate easily.
Cover the seeds with a light layer of soil and press it down.
Water the area with a light spray for ten days, and the seedlings should appear.
Once your seedlings are standing about eight centimetres high, you thin them out, much like thinning carrots.
Thinning means that you remove every second plant to allow space for the root to develop.
They enjoy the company of Onions, Radish, Garlic, Pea, Pepper and Potato.
They prefer to be separate from Caraway, Carrot and Celery.
Parsnip is a natural insecticide.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jeannine_Davidoff/391549

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healthy lunch ideas   

by Michelle Monjack

So starting a new healthy eating regime is a very positive way to change your lifestyle and by maintaining it will provide you with low risk health issues and amazing physical attributes. As like many healthy eating plans or diet plans, exercise is the best tool to use along side of any healthy lifestyle plans. Knowing which foods are best for you to utilise and keep you satisfied is a good way of organising your intake of nutrients through the day ahead.

Healthy lunch ideas are a must as it is lunch time that could sway your mind to give in to matter. In other words you must of heard people say, its mind over matter. Well this is true with some people at lunch time when they have worked all morning, whether at home or the office, and they have given in to their grumbling stomachs by 12 o’clock with something stodgy and full of carbs and fats.

Choosing your own healthy lunch ideas to stop your stomach getting the better of you is a must for those of you finding it really hard to say ‘no thanks’ to the deli cart. Fish is a very good source of brain food, so when you need a fix of focus and a dash of determination for the day ahead, fish like salmon and tuna is an option that will serve more benefits than you think.

Mixing up such fish with fresh peppers, onions and sweetcorn adds crunch to tuna, making sure that you don’t ruin it by using dollops of heavy fat mayo. Light mayo is a must and only using a tsp will not defeat the object of your healthy lunch ideas. [http://youarewhatyoueatfoods.com] Rye bread can be used as a substitute for white bread. Red salmon from a can and a couple of dashes of white malt vinegar has bite and could be mixed together with salad leaves of your choice, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, again if mayo is needed use the light version.

Bread is a quick and easy option for lunch time, but you are wanting to keep it healthy so why not try substituting thick white sliced bread for granary or whole meal breads. Butter doesn’t have to be full of fat either, try the olive oil based butters and perhaps only butter thinly one slice of your sandwich. Healthy lunch ideas does not mean that you have to take out everything that tastes great and start eating rabbit foods, it basically means replacing significant fatty foods like fast foods with lighter options and also by making little adjustments to your home prepared lunch menu’s like the healthier butter on only one slice of the sandwich.

Sharing out your calories for the day with a heartier slow release breakfast (poached eggs on one slice of granary toast, or oats) which can last you through to your light lunch (fish and rye breads) and then having your main meal in the evening will keep you well balanced.

Good balance at every meal time is mandatory and making sure you maintain healthy lunch ideas will keep you from the fatty snacks that you don’t want to give in to throughout the afternoon.

http://goarticles.com/article/healthy-lunch-ideas/3977998/