We know perfectly well that the energy value of vegetables is low. We are also well aware that it is vegetables and fruits that are the most important source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, dietary fiber and biologically active substances.

Salad - vegetable or fruit - the most dietary food, especially for dinner. But those who want to lose excess pounds, absorbing salads and only salads, risk depriving themselves of many other things necessary for the body. I lead to the fact that we should not forget that vegetables can be cooked and second (hot) dishes.

We should strive to ensure that the vegetables not only complement your menu, but also form the basis of nutrition. I do not incline you to pure vegetarianism, but I repeat that we need vegetables and fruits first of all. Therefore, the theme of our today's conversation will be somewhat wider than the title of the article.

The real storehouse of vitamin C is green onions and zucchini, tomatoes and sweet peppers, potatoes and sauerkraut. Especially a lot of vitamin C in green fennel, parsley, fresh raw cabbage - colored and white, spinach and sorrel.

The same cabbage, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, and, in addition, pumpkin, carrots, beets supply us with vitamin K, which promotes blood clotting. A lot of provitamin A - carotene - is found in green vegetables, carrots, sweet pepper.

"Vegetable" sugars and starch are rich in bioactive substances. The same carbohydrates contained in vegetables can not be compared with their value with carbohydrates contained in other foods. The same can be said about mineral substances. In vegetables, they consist mainly of alkaline elements, which have a favorable effect on maintaining the acid-base balance.

Onion, garlic, radish and some other vegetable crops contain bactericidal substances that can kill harmful microorganisms for the organism. There are in these vegetables and substances responsible for the taste and aroma, that is, conducive to the stimulation of appetite.

Contained in vegetables and fruits, ballast substances, that is, plant fibers, stimulate the activity of the intestine, normalize its microflora. They also contribute to the release of harmful substances from the body and create a feeling of satiety. Covering the needs of the body with dietary fiber of plant origin does not lead to an increase in the calorie content of food, and, consequently, to obesity.

Unfortunately, in our age of urbanization, more and more people consume low-calorie food, poor in plant fiber, and this is one of the causes of the age-related diseases - atherosclerosis, hypertension, colon cancer and t.

Each of us should ensure that the diet is necessarily attended by vegetables and fruits. We must preserve all their valuable properties, and in the process of cooking try to reduce the loss of vitamins and minerals.

Of course, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish, green onions and greens, laid on the dish entirely, look great on any table, both on a casual and festive.

But there are vegetables that do not eat whole and separately.

Carrots, for example, for better assimilation of carotene, it is desirable to combine with a certain salad dressing. The same goes for the radish, which you are unlikely to eat whole. It is rubbed on a grater, give a little stand and season with sour cream or mayonnaise. Do not serve entirely on the table and the root of celery or parsley, but simply use them as an additive to a particular dish.

nedug. en.