The Missing Link to Optimum Health

1. TIT
EATING
on the
WILD SIDE
THE MISSING LINK
T O O P T I M U M H E A LT H
i
JO ROBINSON
Lit tle, Brown and Company
New York B os t on L ondon
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2. FMH
CO NTE NTS
TOC_FMH
Wild Nutrients—Lost and Found
TOC_PN/PT
PA R T O N E : V EG E TA B LE S
chapter 1: From Wild Greens to Iceberg Lettuce 0 TOC_CN
chapter 2: Alliums—All Things to All Good People 0
chapter 3: Corn on the Cob—How Supersweet It Is! 00
chapter 4: Potatoes—From Wild to Fries 00
chapter 5: The Other Root Crops—Carrots, Beets,
and Sweet Potatoes 00
chapter 6: Tomatoes—Bringing Back Their Flavor
and Nutrients 00
chapter 7: The Incredible Crucifers—Tame Their
Bitterness and Reap the Rewards 000
chapter 8: Legumes—Beans, Peas, and Lentils 000
chapter 9: Artichokes, Asparagus, and Avocados
—Indulge! 000
PA R T T WO : FR U IT S
chapter 10: Apples—From Potent Medicine to Mild-
Mannered Clones 000
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3. CN
Introduction
CT
WILD N UTRIENTS
CST
Lost and Found
%
W here do our fruits and vegetables come from? Not from the
supermarket, of course. That’s just where they are sold.
Nor do they come from large commercial farms, local farms, or
even our backyard gardens. That’s where they are planted, tended,
COTX
and harvested. The fruits and vegetables themselves came from wild
plants that grow in widely separated areas around the globe. Most of
our blueberries came from wild “swamp huckleberries” that are native
to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The wild ancestor of our beefsteak
tomato is a berry-sized fruit that grows on the flanks of the Andes
Mountains. Our hefty orange carrots came from a wild plant with
purple roots that grows in Afghanistan. When our long-ago ancestors
invented farming 10,000 or so years ago, they began altering these and
other wild plants to make them more productive, easier to grow and
harvest, and more pleasing to their palates. To date, 400 generations of
farmers have played a role in redesigning native plants. The combined
changes are so monumental that our present-day fruits and vegetables
seem like modern creations. Consider the banana, our most popular
fruit. The wild ancestor of the banana grows in Malaysia and parts of
Southeast Asia. The bananas come in a multitude of shapes, colors,
and sizes. Most of them are chock full of large, hard seeds. Their skins
are so firmly attached that you have to cut them off with a knife. Take
a bite of the dry, astringent flesh and you’d wonder why you went
to the trouble. Over several thousand years, we clever humans have
11
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4. 14 | JO ROBINSON
TX etables available today, along with advice on how to identify them and
where you can find them. I have gleaned this information from more
than 1,000 research journals published in the U.S. and abroad. These
discoveries are so new and come from such a multitude of scientific
disciplines that few of the varietal names have become public knowl-
PN
edge until now. PA R T I
You will find many highly nutritious varieties in a conventional
supermarket. Still more are available in farmers markets, farm stands,
natural food stores, and ethnic markets. When you buy your produce
V E GE TA BLE S PT
directly from a farmer, you get to enjoy fresh-picked flavor as well
as added health benefits. The most uncommon varieties of produce
must be grown from seed. This is no hardship if you are one of the
nation’s 35 million home gardeners. Growing the most delectable and
nutritious fruits and vegetables in your own backyard or nearby com-
munity garden is the wave of the future.
Next you will learn new ways to store, prepare, and cook the
fruits and vegetables to enhance their flavor and retain or increase
their health benefits. Most of the new techniques are simple and easy
to remember. Each chapter concludes with a summary to help you
recall key points.
The information in this book is useful to anyone who eats fruits
and vegetables. Whether you are an omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan,
you will discover new ways to make your diet more flavorful and nu-
tritious. If you’re on a specific regimen to lose weight, control al-
lergies, or curb inflammation, choosing the varieties recommended
in this book will further your goals. If you cook for young children,
insert ill. #1
picky eaters, an older person with a flagging appetite, or people who
swear by fast food or meat and potatoes, you will learn how to make
“stealth” substitutions that will improve their chances of enjoying ro-
bust good health.
Finally, if you or someone you know is struggling with a serious
condition or disease, eating on the wild side will swell your medicine
chest with new plant-based remedies. Hippocrates’ famous saying—
”Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”—will
be more than inspirational words; they will become your daily reality.
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5. CN
Chapter 1
2-LINE CT
FROM WILD GREENS TO
ICEB ERG LET TUCE
T oday, we can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables twelve months
of the year. When they are out of season in one region of the
country, they are shipped in from another or imported from as far
COTX
away as Chile or China. This seamless supply allows us to forget the
seasonal cycle of plants and their brief harvest seasons. We can buy
fresh greens in December, apples in April, and grapes all-year round.
The people who first inhabited this land did not have this luxury.
During the winter months, hunter-gatherers had to make do with
their caches of dried meat, fish, roots, fruit, and herbs. When spring
finally arrived, they were hungry for fresh food. Even then, however,
their choices were limited. The wild berry bushes and fruit trees had
yet to blossom. The roots of the Camas lilies, wild carrots, onions,
and ground nuts were too small to be harvested. The wild grasses and
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6. 214 | JO ROBINSON E AT I N G O N T H E W I L D S I D E | 2 1 5
TX H1
When you harvest cherries or bring them home from the store,
refrigerate them right away. Place them in a sealed plastic bag that PLUMS AND PRUNES TX1
you have pricked with 20 pin holes to allow a slow exchange of gas. The wild Indian plum (Osmaronia cerasiformis) grows west of the Cas-
Store the fruit in the produce bin of your refrigerator and eat as soon cade Mountains from Northern California to British Columbia. The
as possible. fruit is remarkably sweet but it is so small that it is more stone than
fruit. Native Americans gathered the plums despite their small size
BOX_T because of their high sugar content. The Tolowa Tribe of Northern
It Doesn’t Get Any Fresher Than This! California gathered large quantities of the fruit, but they had one com-
plaint. The trees bloomed in February, which raised their hopes of an
Lord Ludovica Sforza, the Duke of Milan from 1489-1508, is early feast, but the plums don’t ripen until summer, long after other
BOX
best known for commissioning The Last Supper, Leonardo da fruits had been harvested. The Tolowa considered this false advertis-
Vinci’s world-famous painting. ing. Their name for wild plum trees is “the tree that lies.”
Although Sforza’s taste in art is renowned, few know The Indian plum and all other wild plums are highly nutritious.
about his love of great food. The Duke ordered the creation of The Australian “Kakadu” plum has more vitamin C than any other
extensive fruit and vegetable gardens in the area surrounding food analyzed to date—3,000 milligrams per serving, which is fifty
his Milan castle. The gardens were so productive that they times more than the same amount of oranges. It has five times more
supplied much of the fresh produce for the castle and nearby antioxidants than blueberries.
households. H2
The fruit that was served to Sforza and his intimates, Shopping for Plums in the Supermarket
TX1
however, came from a more rarified source. The Duke had a Our modern varieties of plums cannot match the phytonutrient con-
private garden of fruit trees and bushes that was planted in tent of wild plums, but some varieties are very nutritious. Red, pur-
large wheeled carts. When the Duke wanted to eat some fruit, ple, blue, or black-skinned plums are your best choices. Some of these
his moveable feast was brought to his private chamber or the deeply pigmented fruits have even more antioxidant activity than red
dining table so he could reach out and pluck a perfect specimen cabbage, spinach, onions, or leeks. Plums with yellow, rose, or green
from a living plant. skins are less nutritious due to their lower anthocyanin content.
Chronicle of America, A New History for a New World, Volume XII, by Plums, like all stone fruits, are vulnerable to chilling injury. You
BOX_EXT Fernandez de Oviedo (1478-1557) can avoid this problem by buying ripe plums. Press them between
your palms and they will give a slight amount. If you wait until July
to buy them, the plums are likely to be riper and more flavorful. For
U.S. cherries have three times more pesticides than imported the best quality fruit, buy tree-ripened fruit from local orchards or
cherries, according to data from the FDA and the Environmental Pro- farmers markets.
tection As many as sixteen different pesticides have been found on a When shopping in farmers markets or buying a plum tree for your
single batch of U.S. fruit. In a recent year, only 2 percent of imported yard, look for the recommended varieties on page [000]. “Beltsville
cherries had more than one pesticide. Buy organic cherries to reduce Elite,” “Cacek Best, “French Damson,” “Italian Prune,” and “Stanley”
your exposure to these noxious chemicals. are among the most nutritious.
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7. 208 | JO ROBINSON E AT I N G O N T H E W I L D S I D E | 2 0 9
H3
5. Extra-virgin olive oil is one of the best oils to use in a salad
i
Sautéed Leeks
N¶ dressing.
Fat-free dressings limit your absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins 2-LINE RT
in salad greens. Extra-virgin olive oil is an excellent oil to use because
it makes the nutrients in the greens more bioavailable. Unfiltered ex- with Mustard and Cumin
tra-virgin olive oil is even better because it has more antioxidants and
will stay fresh longer. prep time: 10 to 15 minutes RHN
6. Tame the bold flavors of bitter greens. cook time: 10 minutes
Many of the healthiest salad vegetables are high in beneficial but total time: 20 to 25 minutes Yield: 2 cups
RY
bitter-tasting phytonutrients. If you are extra-sensitive to bitterness,
mix small amounts of bitter greens with milder tasting lettuce. Add 2 medium-sized leeks
avocados or dried or fresh fruit. A honey-mustard salad dressing fur- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil RIL
ther masks the bitterness. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon honey
H1 LEEKS Chop off the roots of the leeks. Chop off the tops, leaving RD
TX1 Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) are tall, mild-flavored alliums three inches of the dark green leaves. Cut the leeks into quarters
with one slender bulb. They look like scallions on growth hormones. lengthwise, then rinse well to remove any dirt. Beginning at
Despite their mild flavor, they are rich in beneficial phytonutrients. the stem end, slice the leeks crosswise into ¼ -inch slices; slice
The nutrients are most concentrated in the leaves and the green por- the green leaves into narrower, 1/8th-inch slices.
tions of the stalk, parts that most people discard. To use the greens in Put the oil, cumin seeds, and the green portions of the leeks
a stir fry or other sautéed dish, cut them into one-eighth-inch slices into a medium-sized frying pan. Sauté on medium to low heat
and sauté for a few minutes before adding the rest of the leek. Unlike for two minutes, then add the white portions and cook for
onions and garlic, leeks lose most of their antioxidant benefits after another 8 minutes. Stir frequently. Add the mustard and honey
spending just a few days in your refrigerator. Cook them as soon as and sauté on low for another two minutes. Serve hot or cold.
you buy or harvest them.
Many people don’t know what to do with leeks once they get them
home. Apart from one classic dish—leek and potato soup—they draw
ÿŸ
a blank. The following quick and easy recipe provides a tasty alterna-
tive. You can serve the sautéed leeks as a side dish, add them to soups
and pot roasts, or pile them on sandwiches or hamburgers. Use them
in omelets, frittatas, poultry stuffing, or serve over fish, beef, pork,
poultry, or lamb. I make a large quantity and freeze some in pint-size
freezer bags to have them on hand.
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8. V E G E TA B L E S T O M AT O E S
FA R M E R S M A R K E T S , S P EC I A LT Y M A R K E TS , C A N TA LO U P E
COMMENTS IN THE GARDEN
TSH A N D S E E D C ATA LO G S VA R I E T I E S TCH
TCG
A sweet, small French heirloom 75-90 days. Can be direct sown
WAT E R M E LO N
COMMENTS IN THE GARDEN heirloom dark orange flesh.
with very with very dark 75-90 days. Can be direct sown
in warm climates when soil
VA R I E T I E S “Charentais” orange flesh. Great flavor.
Great flavor. Not available in in warm climates when soil
temperatures reach 70 degrees. TAB
90 days from transplanting
90 days from transplanting Not markets because of its
mostavailable in most markets temperatures reach 70 degrees.
to maturity. Zones 5-9.
to maturity. Zones 5-9. because
fragility. of its fragility.
Very large (up to 30 pounds),
Watermelons require aalong, hot-
Watermelons require long, Firm, dark orange flesh. Extra- 90 days. Does better in cooler
90 days. Does better in cooler
TAB seeded, heirloom variety that “Durango”
“Dixie Lee” growing season to mature and
hot-growing season to mature high in beta-carotene. conditions than some varieties.
conditions than some varieties.
has more lycopene than most
to develop the best flavor. Look
and to develop the best flavor.
old-fashioned melons. 90-100 days. Zones 4-11. Does
90-100 days. Zones 4-11. Does
for seeds in catalogs featuring
Look for seeds in catalogs An heirloom cantaloupe with
heirlooms varieties.. varieties.
featuring heirlooms “Orange Bleinham” best in warm to hot growing
best in warm to hot growing
deep orange flesh.
conditions
conditions.
Small, round, seedless 90 days from transplanting to
watermelon with dark red maturity. Sweet, firm, and crisp flesh. 90-95 days. Mid-season variety.
90-95 days. Mid-season variety.
flesh. 6-7 pounds. The skin 90 days from transplanting to High in beta-carotene, but F1 Hybrid.
F1 Hybrid.
“Extazy” “Oro Rico”
“Oro Rico”
has light stripes on a dark maturity. not as high as Durango. A
green background. Highest in California standby.
lycopene in a recent review. VA R I E T I E S O F
COMMENTS IN THE GARDEN
A round, dark-red, seedless 98 days from transplanting. HONEYDEW
watermelon with dark green F1 hybrid. A vigorous vine with
“Lycosweet” 98 days from transplanting.
skin. 6-7 pounds. Developed to Hybrid honeydew with the good yield potential. Does well in
be high in lycopene. “Honey Gold”
dark orange flesh color. humid, southern conditions and
85 days from transplanting.
85 days from transplanting. hot, dry conditions in the West.
A seedless hybrid melon.
Zones 5-9. F1 hybrid. (See
Zones 5-9. F1 hybrid. (See Sweet, distinct flavor. 6-pound 105 days.
9-11 pounds. Dark-green skin
general comments above.)
general comments above.) melons. Darker flesh than
“Millennium” without stripes and dark red “Orange Dew”
Needs aaseeded pollinator. Seeds
Needs seeded pollinator. Orange Delight and slightly
flesh. Higher in lycopene than
are available from large seed
Seeds are available from large higher in beta-carotene.
Dixie Lee.
companies.
seed companies.
Not as sweet as Orange Dew 100 days.
A small, round, seedless 85 days. Needs a seeded “Orange Delight”
nor as high in beta-carotene.
watermelon about 7 inches in pollinator.
diameter. Indistinct stripes on
85 days. Needs a seeded
“Mohican” a medium-green background.
pollinator.
High in lycopene. Noted for
its excellent flavor and tender
flesh.
Large, great-flavored, dark-red 80-90 days. Does not need a
melon with seeds. Can reach pollinator.
30 pounds. Light-green skin
“Summer Flavor #710”
with darker-green stripes.
Second highest in lycopene of
the recommended varieties.
218 219