benefits of cauliflower

Cauliflower also offers a healthy dose of potassium, fiber, and folic acid and contains a sulfur compound called isothiocyanate that protects health and prevents disease. Not all cauliflower is white. You can find green and orange varieties of this cruciferous (named for the crossshaped flowers) cousin of broccoli and brussels sprouts. The difference is in the amount (or absence) of chlorophyll present during the vegetables growth.

The leaves of the cauliflower have a strong flavor alone. Anytime you are using a cauliflower recipe, you can toss the leaves in for extra flavor. This works especially well in soups, dips, and stews. Many people find that just tossing the leaves in a pot of boiling water and eating the leaves as a side dish is wonderful. You can store the leaves in the crisper section of your fridge for up to 5 days.

An easy way to add extra nutrients to your diet is by eating a few cauliflower leaves. The vitamins are just as high in the leaf as in the head. One serving of cauliflower (? cup) contains almost half of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, and is loaded with appetite suppressing fiber.

At your next party, why not serve some cauliflower leaves with a soft dip? Many people enjoy the flavor when combined with a hollandaise or Mornay sauce. This will give your guests something a little out of the ordinary, tasty, and healthy to boot.

Our CSA farmdoes not trim the outer leaves off a head of cauliflower because they help to keep the white part of the cauliflower clean until youre ready to eat it. The farm newsletter had mentioned from time to time that these leaves are edible, too, and wed tried substituting them forkalein a few dishes, but our main impression was that they were tougher and less tasty than kale.

Due to its high vitamin K content, cauliflower helps to reduce inflammation. It also has omega3 fatty acids, the same healthy fats found in salmon and flax seeds, but with the added bonus of practically no calories. Aloogobi (potatocauliflower) is a very popular dish in south Asian countries, especially in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Gobimanchurian is another Indianchinese snack in which fried florets mixed with Chineses style sauces in a mouthwatering recipe.

The average daily recommendation for fiber exceeds 25 grams. Eat some cauliflower and youll be contributing over 3 grams to your daily total, helping cleanse your digestive tract. choose fresh heads featuring snow/creamwhite, compact, even heads that feel heavy in hand. Grainy surface and separate heads indicate over maturity, while greenish coloration may be due to over exposure to sunlight. Avoid heads with bruised surface as they indicate poor handling of the flower and also those with dark color patches as they indicate mold disease known as downy mildew.

Decrease chronic ailments such as atherosclerosis, a leading cause of heart attack and stroke. Cauliflower can help keep your blood flowing to essential organs of the body! Cauliflowers are available all around the year in the markets; however, they are at their best during winter months. In general, harvesting done when the head reaches the desired size but before the florets begin to separate.

Cauliflower boasts a cornucopia of B vitamins: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 to be exact. That includes folic acid, so if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, be sure to add this vegetable to your weekly consumption. It is an also good source of minerals such as manganese, copper, iron, calcium and potassium. Manganese is used in the body as a cofactor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

Cauliflower can be boiled, but this does nothing to enhance the flavor, and in fact, can reduce the levels of all the beneficial compounds youre looking for in this versatile veggie. Try cauliflower as a delicious alternative to creamy potatoes. It wont disappoint and leaves the starch behind. Another option, add to your favorite curry dish. Its filling, aromatic, and packed with phytochemicals that are beneficial to human health. Here are two of my favorite recipes featuring cauliflower: