Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Introductions are necessary: Meet the Parsnip

It is a beautiful day in Amsterdam today and I went for a 30 minute walk during my lunch hour. My tushy muscles are flinching in my seat right now but I feel really good! I also discovered that right up the road is a beautiful little street with a canal on one side and little houses on the other. I walked almost to the end but ran out of time and had to turn back. I’m going to have to start bringing my Ipod to work with me to help me pick up the pace a little. All in good time though.

I also had a wonderful roasted lunch today with sliced turkey, a small potato, parsnips and a little (tablespoon size) bit of dressing. It was like Thanksgiving in April in the Netherlands! (considering I had frozen pizza last turkey day - this was a treat).

Lets' get down and dirty with the parsnip, shall we? What in the world are they, you ask? Don't feel silly, I asked the same question or at least I used to ask, as I had never had one until a few months ago when I was accidently introduced to them at lunch. They were part of the "meal" deal so I took them and tried them and voila... a new favorite food! If you like sweet potatoes or carrots, I strongly recommend you try them. I’ve only ate them roasted so I’m not sure how/if you can have them raw but YUMMY YUMMY! Give 'em a go!

Naturally I assumed since I liked my new found parsnip so well that I would google “parsnip” to find out that they are about as healthy as a donut because that just how things go in the weight loss world, right? Well ADDED BONUS (insert sounds of bells, buzzers, diggy-things, a whooptie whistles here)… they’re really good for you! Directly from http://www.everynutrient.com/ :

Parsnips provide an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper, and manganese. They also offer a very good source of niacin, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium. They are a good source of riboflavin, folic acid, and vitamins B6 and E. Parsnips provide similar nutritional benefits as potatoes. Some significant differences are that parsnips are lower in calories and contain only about 50 percent of the protein and vitamin C content of potatoes.


However, parsnips do contain more fiber than potatoes. Even though both parsnips and potatoes provide good amounts of B vitamins, parsnips provide a much better source of folic acid.

Holy Cow! I'm going to go parsnip bananas here! Share your parsnip recipes w/ me and if you've never had a parsnip, leave a comment (so I don't feel like I've lived under a rock my whole life!)
For those who are also crawling out from under the rock and may want to purchase a parsnip today at the store, look for something like this:

Have a parsnippty good time trying it out!

5 comments:

Janine said...

I usually roast parsnips, but my favourite part is peeling and cutting them. They have such a lovely smell.

VRaz60 said...

Lately, I've been a roasted parsnip kinda gal. Earlier, as a child and young adult, we would parboil them and fry them in butter. That's the absolute best, but sadly, not the smartest way to eat them. I love them in stews, too.

BTW, thanks for dropping by my blog to day. Nice to meet you.

Rachel Mobley said...

never had them...but would like to try them, so now I guess I will have to! I started walking too! I'll be thinking of you when I walk now...love ya girl!

Teale said...

Never tried them (or even seen them until now, I don't think!). May have to give them a try (maybe!)!

Akela said...

I've never had them, but now that I know how healthy they are I definitely want to try. I started walking during my lunch break too and I love it! I recently had back surgery so I'm not able to go often, but It's a great way to break up the day. I bring my iPhone and listen to music when I go. It's just great.

I gained 20 pounds while on bed rest after surgery and have been having a really hard time getting if off, but I plan to use your blog for some additional inspiration.