As many people know, cruciferous vegetables are the power house of veggies!
We heard it a hundred times….”Eat your broccoli”….or even more recently…”Eat your Kale!”
But do you really know just exactly how wonderful these foods can be?
Here a little “taste”:
- 28 servings of veggies per week decreases prostate cancer risk by 33%…BUT, just 3 servings of cruciferous vegetables per week decreases prostate cancer risk by 41%! Hmmm, I’ll take 3 please!
- Cruciferous vegetables are TWICE as powerful as other plant foods in preventing and fighting cancer
- One or more servings of cabbage per week reduces the occurrence of pancreatic cancer by 38% **
** stats taken from “Super Immunity”, by Dr Joel Fuhrman
Basically, when you eat these veggies, they activate enzymes that protect your cells from DNA damage (cancer), giving them each their own protective shield. They also have incredible phytochemicals that can program the “cell death” of any DNA that might be damaged….AMAZING!
If that isn’t enough, these magnificent veggies act as super fuel for the entire immune system! So start munching on those leafy greens!
Here is a list to help you get started
- kale
- arugula
- collard greens
- Chinese broccoli
- broccoli
- broccolini
- cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- cauliflower
- red cabbage
- collards
- horse radish
- radish
- water cress
- bok choy
- mustard greens
A couple of these stand out because they are NOT GREEN. Like cauliflower and red cabbage. These are so easy to incorporate in your everday meals. In our house, cabbage and broccoli seem to be the easiest (with kale not too far behind).
So here is a recipe for QUICK and EASY COLESLAW
1 head of red cabbage, grated or thinly slice
2 carrots grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 TBS cilantro chopped
1 apple, cored and grated (I left the skin on mine)
Dressing:
1/2 cup Vegan Mayonaise
3 TBS lime juice
1 garlic cloves, minced
a pinch of salt
1 packet or stevia, optional
Prepare the dressing and then pour over the entire salad. Mix thoroughly. You can serve it right away….or not! The thing I love about this salad is that it is great the next day, even after sitting in the refridgertor all night (it won’t wilt like other salads will once they have the dressing on them).
Source: WFM 1-10