The word "khana" in Indian Khana Made Easy means food. So come on, let's explore and cook some easy Indian food together including gluten-free and vegan dishes.

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November 10, 2020

Tip Five - Boost Nutrition with Food Pairings: Carrots or Sweet Potatoes with Plant fats





Carrots are orange because they are rich in beta-carotene which gives them their trademark orange color. But I was surprised to learn that sweet potatoes are also rich in Carotene. Both of these vegetables contain many healthy nutrients in addition to fiber. 

Let us consider their health benefits:

Carrots are crunchy, tasty and in addition to beta-carotene, they are a good source of fiber, vitamin K, potassium, and antioxidants. In addition to these nutrients, carrots are weight-loss friendly due to low calories, reduce risk of cancer, and improve eye health with Vitamin A formed from beta carotene in our body. Carrots also contain a 241% DV, a daily value of Vitamin A.

Carrots contain pectin which is a soluble fiber that can lower blood sugar levels by slowing down our digestion of sugar and starch. It can also feed the friendly bacteria in our gut leading to improved health. It can also impair the absorption of cholesterol from the digestive tract, lowering blood cholesterol. The insoluble fibers in carrots are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin which reduces the risk of constipation and promotes regular bowel movement.

Sweet Potato:

Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes may be one of nature's unsurpassed sources of beta-carotene which raises the blood levels of vitamin A particularly true in children. Betacarotene is an antioxidant that protects our body from free radicals (which damage DNA and trigger inflammation) that are linked to causing cancer, heart disease, and aging. Therefore eating antioxidant-rich foods is good for your health. A 100g serving of sweet potato consists of 769% DV, a daily value of Vitamin A.

Like carrots, sweet potatoes also contain a soluble fiber called viscous fiber that absorbs water in our gut and softens the stool. The insoluble fibers add bulk and also get fermented by the bacteria in the colon release short-chain fatty acids that feed the cells of the intestinal lining and keep them strong and healthy.

As we have seen here both carrots and sweet potatoes are rich in betacarotene that forms into Vitamin A to boost our eye health. But beta-carotene absorption is boosted in our body when these vegetables were eaten along with some plant fat as it is a fat-soluble nutrient.

We propose to pair carrots with hummus (or some type of fat like peanut butter) as an excellent snack, the oil content in hummus from the sesame paste will help absorb more beta-carotene.

For sweet potatoes, it is a better option to saute or steam them and cut into pieces and pair them with nuts like sunflower or pumpkin seeds to enhance the carotene absorption. Cooking reduces the beta-carotene but it can retain 70% of this nutrient and still considered an excellent source.

So next time you are at a supermarket, remember to grab a few carrots or sweet potatoes or both to help boost your health in many good ways.

October 27, 2020

Tip Four - Boost Nutrition with Food Pairings: Vitamin C and Plant-based Iron

Spinach with Vitamin C (Orange or lime juice)


Iron is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in many bodily functions. A diet lacking in iron can result in low energy levels, shortness of breath, irritability, headaches, dizziness, or anemia.

Iron can be found in two forms in foods - heme and non-heme. Heme iron is only found in animal products, whereas non-heme is only found in plants. The recommended daily allowance/ intake (RDA/ RDI) is based on a person's gender and life stage.

-Post-menopausal women and men, 8mg/ day
-Mensurating women, 18g/ day
-Pregnant women 27g/ day

Non-heme iron tends to be less easily absorbed by our bodies than heme iron. Hence the RDI for vegetarians or vegans is 1.8 times higher than for meat-eaters.

To best absorb non-heme iron (plant-based), we need to pair it with a source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps break the iron down into a form that the body can more easily absorb. Absorption will be much greater if both the nutrients are in a single meal. 

Spinach provides many health benefits but very few calories. About 3.5 oz (100g) of raw spinach contains 2.7mg of iron or a 15% daily allowance. Leafy greens, such as Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, and beet greens contain between 2.4 - 6.4mg of iron per cooked cup. For example, 100g of spinach contains 1.1 times more iron than the same amount of red meat and 2.2 times more than 100g of salmon.

Below is a salad recipe that pairs the non-heme goodness of plant-based food with Vitamin C enriched food:
 
Spinach and Orange Salad

Baby Spinach                2 cups packed
Orange (any type)         10 - 12 wedges de-skinned
Olive oil                        1 tbsp
Black pepper                  To taste or 1/4th tsp.
Walnuts (optional)        10 - 12 pieces

Place spinach in a bowl, drizzle olive oil, add pepper, and garnish it with orange wedges and walnuts. Toss well and serve. You can also make a colorful salad with spinach and sliced strawberries that have a good amount of Vitamin C (a 3.5oz contains 59mg of Vit C or 98% daily value). Other combos: Broccoli with bell Peppers, chickpeas with tomatoes.

Who would have thought these simple ingredients would make such a yummy salad. We couldn't wait to share it with all of you. 

We hope you are enjoying our tips on food pairings to boost nutrition. Keep posted for more tips.