parsnips | Healthy Stacey – Paleo Recipes by Stacey Clarke

Sunchokes are my Favorite! + Parsnippity & Sunchoky Fries Recipe

April 27, 2015

Sunchoke? What’s a sunchoke? That’s what I said when I first saw this ugly looking root veggie in Whole Foods. It sounds like an oxymoron. The sun is good and happy and lovely. Why is it choking? But after doing a little research, I found out that its technical name is the Jerusalem Artichoke and it belongs to the sunflower family. Ooooh. That makes sense.

Better than that, though, is that its got the health benefits of a super vitamin, with the satisfying (creamy or crispy) bite of a potato. I LOVE finding something new and different.

Here’s the breakdown of what it can do for your health*.

Packed with prebiotic fiber called inulin. The presence of inulin stimulates the growth of good bacteria in the large intestine. Great news for constipation and the immune system.
Tons of B-vitamins, namely thiamine (B1). You need thiamine for your nervous system, muscles and carbohydrate metabolism. Yes, this stuff will help you better produce acid in the stomach so you can digest your food seamlessly.
Low glycemic. That means that it’s digested slowly, can help curb cravings, prevent mood swings, fight fatigue, improve PCOS symptoms and possibly reduce risk of heart disease.
More potassium than a banana. Potassium works hard to improve the health of your bones, your heart and your muscles. It can even counteract some of the negative effects of salt (to all you salt over-doers out there).
Locks of lovin it. Sunchokes promote nutrients such as iron, copper and vitamin C. Dietary iron is the stuff that carries oxygen to the hair, keeping hair follicles healthy. Vitamin C is what’s responsible for making collagen. We all know how good that stuff can be for our youthful glow.

Now that you know why you should eat them, here's how to eat them. The answer? In Fry form. Duh. What else?

These fries are so so so good. Usually after dinner, I feel the need to snack a little more, grab a spoon of almond butter, or sneak a piece of dark chocolate. After this stuff, I was so satisfied, nothing else was necessary. Stick a fork in me. I've found my new favorite recipe. (For now).

Parsnippity & Sunchoky Fries Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

3 Parsnips, peeled
6 Sunchokes
1 – 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rinse Parsnips and Sunchokes thoroughly (need to get myself one of those veggie scrub brushes).
Cut both parsnips and sunchokes into thin fry-like strips. The parsnips are going to be longer than the sunchokes. That is okay. As long as they are roughly the same width.
Heat up 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in your pan. Once melted, toss the parsnips and sunchokes into the pan and roll them around until they are coated with oil.
Lay out the parsnips & sunchokes on the baking sheet in one layer.
Sprinkle fresh (or dried) rosemary over the top, followed by salt and pepper.
Pop in the oven for roughly 15 minutes. Check on them, turn them over with a spatula, and maybe add a few more herb sprinkles to cover both sides.
Put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Take out and enjoy immediately! (but they will also save just fine for a few days).

Okay. Comment time! You're turn to test them out. What do you think? Any suggestions for how to improve the recipe? Have you ever heard of a sunchoke? Did you think it was angry too? Click on my adorably designed comment icon below (all the way to the right) OR any of the social icons to hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google +.

*Source: healwithfood.org

Healthy Food Of The Week: PARSNIPS

September 18, 2014

Awesome for: Fiber, Folate, Potassium and Vitamin C

Look like: White-yellow carrots

Tastes like: Carrots, but sweeter and heartier

What they can do for you:

Improve digestive tract and keep you fuller longer (fiber)
Lessens risk of depression, increases energy and promote red blood cells (folate acid)
Decrease risk of birth defects for pregnant women (folate acid)
Lower risk of stroke and high blood pressure (potassium)
Supports bone, skin, blood vessel, immune system and teeth health (vitamin C)
In Medieval Times, they were considered an aphrodisiac. Bow chica bowow.

Suggested Use:

For storage: Wrap in a paper towel and cover in plastic. Store up to two weeks in the veggie bin of the fridge. (The vitamin C content decreases with increased exposure to heat, light, air and water).
Peel or slice thin like a carrot and eat raw in salads (make sure to scrub clean before you do this).
Roast in oven by themselves or with other root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Cut up into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with coconut oil or ghee. Sprinkle with herbs and seasoning. And roast at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

All facts aside:

Parsnips are like this slightly sweet, herby treat that I can’t believe I did not discover earlier. I don’t know why people don’t use them more. When roasted, they are the perfect warm, comforting veggie for the fall. They taste so good, you might think they aren’t good for you. But they are. Duh. Why else would they be the healthy food of the week?

p.s. Yes. I called this post “Healthy Food of the Week” as if there have been other weeks. But you weren’t mistaken, this is the first one of its kind. There are so many great unprocessed foods out there that I figured the best way to talk about them with you is to feature a new one every week. I am totally looking forward to reading and writing about real food on a regular basis. I don’t you understand how much joy it brings me (I’m weird, I know). Please leave your thoughts below! (just type in the big box and click POST COMMENT).