We all know we’re supposed to eat at least five servings of veggies each day. But if you’re like me, you get stuck on just a few of the most common vegetables and they begin to become boring on your plate.
Here are eight vegetables you may never have tried. Spice up your salads, soups, and vegetable side-dishes with some of these:
Guar: Guar is a legume. Both pods and seeds are eaten and are high in protein. Guar is grown as a soil-improving plant as well as for food. Cook in water until tender and then sauté.
Spider Plant: Also known as African cabbage, this green leafy vegetable is eaten like spinach. It is usually considered a weed. Leaves, stems, pods and flowers may be boiled or fried in a bit of oil. Addition of a bit of milk reduces bitterness.
Chicories: The chicory family includes radicchio, endive, frisee and escarole. All of these are varieties of the chicory and range from bitter to mild. They are greens eaten in salads.
Fava and Pea Tops: The trimmed uppermost tendrils of the fava and pea plants are edible. Chop them and sauté for one to two minutes.
Celeriac: This is a type of the celery plant, but only the root is eaten. Peel and slice the root into thin slices.
Sorrel: This resembles spinach. It has a sour lemon taste and is used pureed in soups or in sauces for fish.
Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi is known as a cabbage-turnip. It grows above ground and is eaten like a turnip. It can be boiled, steamed or microwaved whole.
Witloof: Meaning white leaf in Dutch, Witloof is a creamy-white leaf vegetable. It has a nutty flavor.
Put aside the beans and corn for a while and expand your dietary choices with one of the above vegetable surprises. Ask Granny has mentioned 8 unusual ideas, do you have any interesting ones to share with us?
Read all about vegetables and their benefits at All About Vegetables
