Superfoods part 25

Welcome to our health & self help blog.

In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.

Today’s post: Friday, 5-19-2006

Superfoods & Honor Roll Foods, part 25

Zucchini & Okra.

One of the ways I lost 30 pounds & kept it off -- & maybe THE most effective way -- was to ADD green vegetables to my dinner every day.

I’d read in my Dad’s copy of the Weight Watchers point system that green vegetables had ZERO points. That means that in terms of putting fat on you, they’ve found that green vegetables, by themselves or with just water added, have the effect of a zero calorie food.

(I found that eating a green vegetable serving with my dinner made it easy & effortless to have one serving of the main dish which had far more calories & fat, instead of having two servings of the main dish.)

That means that every green vegetable is a superfood.

This is particularly true in today’s world where most of the work & recreation of most people is sedentary. (Sitting in front of a computer, even when typing on the keyboard doesn’t burn many calories; & sitting in front of a TV burns very little more calories than sleeping.)

In this series, I’m including a variety of green vegetables to try. That way, my hope is you’ll find some you like & will always know several kinds of green vegetables to try when you want variety.

So, here are two more green vegetables.: Zucchini & Okra.

Zucchini is a kind of green squash so it has water, fiber, vitamin C, & the natural form of folic acid. It’s not an honor roll food for nutrients like broccoli; but as a food, it’s unusually versatile & a great addition for variety & taste in eating green vegetables.

Unlike green peppers, raw carrots, & celery, uncooked zucchini is a softer, non-crunchy food.

For me, I find that makes it a more filling & satisfying food.

Uncooked, zucchini slices are a great addition to salads.

And, by making the slices on the diagonal & relatively thin, you can make a cracker substitute for appetizers.

Try a topping you like on some of those kind of zucchini slices. Hummus works. Guacamole works. If you & your &/or your guests & family aren’t allergic to peanuts, peanut butter works. You can even try cream cheese if you don’t do it often or in super-large quantities.

Using diagonally sliced zucchini in this way is far superior to crackers. It has a lot less carbs. It has more fiber than most crackers. And, zucchini has ZERO transfats -- as in 0.000 percent.

In addition, you can steam or lightly boil sliced zucchini for savory hot dishes or to add to pastas.

Most grocery stores carry it in the produce section.

Okra is green vegetable most people outside the South have seldom eaten.

But it works well cooked into savory hot dishes as the main green vegetable. It has a unique taste & texture.

Like oatmeal, it’s high in soluble fiber that helps keep your dangerous LDL cholesterol low.

I find it quite filling & satisfying to eat.

I have seen it canned & precooked in stores in the past. But currently our local upscale grocery & our supermarket both had frozen okra; but did not have canned Okra on their shelves.