Top Ten Good Winter Vegetables

Everybody knows that if you buy fruit and vegetables in season then they are fresher and cheaper. So what are the good winter vegetables to look out for that do not cost a lot and will enable you to make endless tasty recipes? Read on to find about ten good winter vegetables to look out for in the shops or to grow in your own garden!

The Meany Goat Winter Vegetable Choice:

	Beetroot	A good winter vegetable that can be grated raw into salad, steamed, boiled or picked in vinegar. Cook in a microwave in order to reduce the cooking time.	Contains beta cyanin which helps detoxify the liver. Good source of Vitamin C and Iron.
	Potatoes	Spuds! Everybody’s favorites. But seriously, they are a really good source of nutrition and very cheap to buy. Can be boiled, mashed or made into a purrie….but please avoid making them into crisps or chips!	Good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber.
	Sprouts	They have a bad reputation for making you fart….and at school they always tasted disgusting. However, if you steam them instead of boiling for 10 years then they taste really sweet. Can’t promise that you wont let rip afterwards though!	High in fiber and a good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K
	Leeks	A veritable King of Vegetables! Takes just 5 or 6 minutes to steam or can be added to any stew or casserole. Great in a flan as well!	Good source of Vitamin K and Manganese while also containing plenty of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
	Cabbage	There are so many different kinds of cabbage to choose from in the winter that you are really spoilt for choice. Red and white hard Dutch style cabbages are best chopped finely into salad or coleslaw. Leafy cabbages can be boiled but are so much nicer steamed..;and that way they keep more of the vitamins.	Very low in calories and high in anti-oxidants like thiocyanates, indole-3-carbinol, lutein, zea-xanthin, sulforaphane, and isothiocyanates. Thought to help protect against various cancers and also may help lower LDL colesterol.
	Onions	Almost every recipe contains onions so buy a large bag when you see them cheap and they will store for months in a cool ventilated place.	Another source of Vitamin C and Manganese. Contains flavonoids which act as anti-oxidants. Also contains plenty of sulfur which is associated with improving the liver function.
	Kale	Curly Kale is a long forgotten staple winter vegetable that you will only see rarely in the shops. Strip the leaves from the stalks and boil, steam or saute like spinach. Add things like garlic, sunflower seeds and raisins for extra flavor and texture!	Low in calorie, high in fiber and zero fat! Packed with Vitamins including C and K. Also high in natural calcium.
	Parsnips	Parsnips cook very quickly compared with potatoes so don’t put them all in the roasting pan at the same time. Great simply sliced and steamed.	High in fiber and another source of Vitamin C and Manganese.
	Celery	Another good winter vegetable that you can eat every scrap of. The leaves and inner stalks are nice in salads while the tougher outer stalks are a traditional ingredient for all types of stew.	More of a “filler” since celery is mostly water, but is a useful source of Vitamin K and Vitamin B9
	Carrots	Cheap to buy and tasty either raw and cooked. Often you will see huge bags being sold cheaply in the Autumn or Fall…snap them up and store the carrots in boxes loosely covered with old potting soil. Steaming is always the quickest and best way to cook them.	Fantastic source of Vitamin A

Healthy Recipes that use Winter Vegetables:

Here are some links to really tasty recipes that you can make once you have grown or purchased some good winter vegetables…..

Carrot and Parsnip Soup

Winter Root Mash

Winter Vegetable Stew

So take a frugal tip from the Meany Goat and hunt out some good winter vegetables in the farmers markets and shops….good for your pocket and good for your health!

Last updated by Meany Goat on December 5, 2012.