Root Vegetable Renaissance
by Rachel Albert-Matesz
Have you been ignoring your roots? Now¹s the time to repair your relationship with these often ignored vegetables. At the turn of the century, Americans ate them in abundance, but with the advent of fast food these sustaining staples fell out of favor. Nowadays, many young people are unable to name more than one or two root vegetables. Who knows what wisdom is waning as a result. Please take a look at Rachel's new cookbook sold here.
Recognize that root
How many of the following can you accurately identify?
 burdock root
Celeraic
Daikon
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Parsnip
Rutabaga
Salsify
Turnip
Winter Radish
What¹s so great about roots?
Consider the root. It provides stability and a sense of root-ed-ness. Without roots, we tip over, feel awry, un-rooted, up-rooted, unconnected to our origins, and ungrounded. We become lost in upward and outward energy. If we want our feet firmly planted on the earth, we must reconnect with the primal energy of Mother Earth. What better time to do this than Autumn, when leaves fall and we herald the harvest.
A plant¹s roots draw water and minerals from the soil to nourish and sustain its leaves. They regulate water and mineral movement and keep crucial fluids flowing. Roots store energy collected by the leaves, slowly releasing it to fuel growth, activity, and reproduction for plants. During a long cold winter, the underground portion of a plant stores vital energy after the leaves die back, allowing the plant to regenerate in the spring.
Might some of these same benefits be bestowed upon those who feast on these fruits? I like to think of roots as fertilizer for thought, nourishment for the next project, rations for regeneration, and batteries for bolstering our bodies and minds inside and out.
What¹s in a root?
From a nuts and bolts standpoint, roots provide carbohydrates, minerals, such as potassium and phosphorus, small amounts of iron, vitamin C, fiber, phytochemicals, and a cornucopia of carotenoids beyond beta carotene. One cup of turnip or rutabaga supplies as much vitamin C as one grapefruit or half an orange. Given the right conditions, your body may convert some of the beta carotene in roots into vitamin A.
What benefits might you reap by eating more roots?
Volume for volume and calorie for calorie, roots supply more nutrients and fewer calories than grains. Their soluble fiber can increase satiety, aid weight loss, and keep you regular. Using root vegetables as a replacement for grain adds vibrant colors, textures, and flavors to meals. One or two daily doses of roots may lessen your desire for sweets, provided you pair them with ample protein and friendly fat and oils on your plate.
Year round goodness
Depending upon where you live, the harvest time for these vegetables may vary. However, most are amenable to year round use and many may be grown in the dead of winter with the use of cold frames or a greenhouse. What follows are a few great ways to celebrate the season and reconnect with our roots.
Recipes excerpted from The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz (Planetary Press, 2004).
Rachel Albert-Matesz is a freelance food and health writer, cooking coach, instructor, and personal chef based in Phoenix, AZ, and co-author of The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook (Planetary Press, 2004).
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I have learned to eat burdock rot everyday, raw, sauted, cooked, as an ingredient in bean soup, grated in salads or just chewing it piece by piece. It might be the most fortifying and puryfiyng root of all. Delicious when freshly harvested, crunchy and pleasant.
A great blood food and skin protector.
Daikon is said to improve dramatically eye conditions. 10 grams a day very carefully.
chewed