Geetha's Kitchen

A friend sent me a list of some super foods that we often overlook but should incorporate into our daily meals; you don't have to eat all of them every single day but include them as often as you can. I have added a few of my own to the list. Check out the following good for you as well as good tasting foods with suggestions on how to include them in your diet. Enjoy!! ARTICHOKES: Low in calories, high in fiber, artichokes are an anti-oxidant food and also good sources of many vitamins and minerals. Try them  whole steamed, the hearts in salads, stir-fry, risotto, and dips. AVOCADO:  Amazingly delicious, creamy and smooth, avocados are anti-inflammatory and a fantastic source of fiber, beneficial fats, carotenoids, Vitamins B5, K, & C, and easily digestible protein.  Serve them in the shell, in salads, dips, sandwiches. Try guacamole or  avocado salsa - yum! BARLEY: A wonderful grain highly prized for its many qualities, it has been eaten by humans...

Sweet Potato Soup is a hearty, comforting and nutritious soup aromatic with herbs, spices, and soffrito.The aromatic vegetable mixture known as soffrito is a melange of coarsely chopped onion, celery and carrots enrich the soup with flavor and color.  Baked, roasted, boiled - sweet potatoes/yams are good and good for you whichever way they are prepared. Here is a wonderful way to eat them in a soup. Leftover plain roasted/baked sweet potatoes can also be used to make this soup - if using leftovers, stir in after the dal is cooked. Mung dal adds body and protein to the soup and cooks quickly too. Blanch the tomatoes by immersing them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, cool, peel and strain out the seeds for a luxurious touch. The red pepper, sambar powder and lemon/lime juice perfectly balance the sweetness of the yams. 6 - 8 Servings Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes 1 Onion 2 ribs Celery 1 medium Carrot 1 cup Split, s...

I like the idea of having something growing so that I can pick a few leaves to add freshness as well as nutrition to the day's menu. Sweet Potato/yam (Ipomoea batatas) leaves are very easy to grow and absolutely delicious; for clarification of the name yam, check here . It is another dark green leafy veggie that you can add to your repertoire of home grown leaves. Whether you get heart-shaped or deeply divided leaves, the plant is quite handsome as a potted plant. All one needs to grow the leaves is a sweet potato; there are two methods that can be used for growing it: Place the whole potato in a dark cupboard and leave it undisturbed for a few weeks; it will sprout in its own time. You will see vines sprouting out. Place the potato in a jar of water and wait for it to sprout; soon roots and vines will start to grow. Choose either method (or both) and once sprouts start to grow, you can plant the whole potato with the vines attached in a large pot and watch the vine...

We call this soup Roots & Fruits Chowder because of the ingredients: all the root and the fruit veggies such as the yam/potato, carrot, squash, pepper, corn, etc. This delicious and warming chowder is perfect for a cool Autumn or Winter day and goes together rather quickly. All of the vegetables contribute to the wonderful flavor and color of this soup. Of course, as always, you can choose just a few or all of the veggies listed - just increase the amounts of the veggies you do choose if you eliminate some. I like using butter since we add cream to the chowder; but the oil is fine too especially if you are using soy or other non-dairy cream. Ingredients: 1 medium white/yellow/brown Onion 2 or 3 ribs Celery with leaves 1 sprig fresh Sage (about 4 or 5 leaves) + more for garnish 3 to 5 sprigs fresh Thyme + more for garnish Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Unsalted Butter 1 small Butternut Squash, pumpkin or other winter squash 1 medium Potato ...

When I wanted to make quick roasted sweet potatoes/yams, I just went along with my inspiration and it brought rave reviews. Everyone just adores them and they disappear quickly. Simply marvelous and satisfying, they are to live for :)! A quick note for those who might find the names confusing - sweet potatoes with moist orange flesh are marketed as yams in the U.S. to differentiate them from the drier cream colored ones and both belong to the genus Ipomoea batatas; albeit different types. They are in the same family as the morning glory (Convolvulaceae). They are not true yams at all. Sweet potatoes/yams are a nutritious addition to any type of diet and provide an amazing 120 percent of Daily Value for Vitamin A and 30 percent of Vitamin C (based on a 2000 calorie diet). They also have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes. Roasted sweet potatoes are also great made with a sprinkle of red chile flakes or ground red pepper (cayenne) instead of/in addition to the black peppe...