MUSTARD GREENS
March 10th, 2012 → 1:20 am @ Shanti
“Vitamins and minerals in fresh food”
MUSTARD GREENS
Mustard greens are a bit like lettuce, but a bit more pungent and stronger in flavour however. They lend themselves to dishes, which need spicing up, like stir-fries or soups, but can be eaten raw as well. This vegetable belong to the brassica family, like the cabbage etc. It was originally grown in the Himalayan plains in India and is also grown for its oil in the seeds.
The mustard greens are very high in the anti oxidants and vitamins A, C and K, even higher than lettuces, which are so important for good health. As in Kale, these figures are very high, so another good food to consume regularly. Whenever possible, eat them raw or only lightly blanched, rather than cooked, because heat will destroy a lot of the goodness, especially vitamin C. In stir-fries, add them at the last few moments of cooking only.
Vitamins: Vit K, A, C, B9, B6 and E, all very high; B2, B1, B3 and B5 are also well represented.
Minerals: Manganese, Iron, Copper, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc and Selenium, all well represented.
From the above items, we can see that the brassica family is very healthy. Be aware of over-heating them, as the food value will drop dramatically. If you want to eat them raw, choose young shoots, because they are less pungent.
A lot of South Asian dishes feature mustard greens.
