Turn it Up with Turnips!

Pin It

Are you a fan of mashed potatoes? I am a Midwestern girl at heart, so I proudly will tell you I grew up as a fan of potatoes, especially mashed. There is such a comfort of warm filling food that requires little to no chewing. (How lazy does that sound? :) As I got older I started to add tasty (but not that healthy) additions to the mashed potatoes: garlic and onions (not really unhealthy until you add, "scary music") extra butter, tons of cheese, possibly sour cream, and even a bacon crumble perhaps. This was a bowl of gluttonous comfort. And if I am truly laying the cards on the table I am going to say french fries or mashed potatoes made up 75% - 80% of my vegetable intake for several years. But I am proud to say no longer do they play a significant role in my veggie intake. Though there are days they truly are that little bowl of yummy comfort. So was it the flavor of mashed potatoes I enjoy? Not really, if I am willing to add pretty much anything to up its flavor. Its that texture and warmth that radiate from the bowl. Well it is time to take the flavor and nutritional value and Turn It Up. Or should I say time to add the heavyweight cruciferous root vegetable, the almighty powerhouse, TURNIP. Can we say yum? What keeps you from trying new foods, especially fruits or vegetables? My number one reason that selecting new produce can be frightening is what can I do with it? And how do I select "the right one"; or more accurately "the ripe one". Plus, as children we were exposed to certain vegetables and fruits that seemed very unpleasant. Because as kids are taste buds are extremely over-sensitive and undeveloped at the same time. There was probably a fruit or veggie as a kid that you tried and spit out immediately. I challenge you to revisit that offender and prepare it yourself. First, as the adult you get to choose how to prepare them. You can choose what ingredients to blend and what type of heat to use or choose no heat at all. Second, no one is going to force you to clean your plate if the produce selection is still not your favorite. I think you are going to find some neat surprises. I sure have!!! My top three tips I have learned when approaching new produce include: the produce should feel heavier than it looks, the colors present should be vibrant and not faded, and though the produce doesn't have to be blemish free and polished avoid produce with overly dark spots, deep gouges, and/or spongy spots. Happy shopping! Now, back to the tasty nutritional powerhouse known as the Turnip. Aren't they pretty? Turnips can either come with the greens attached (which sound wonderful and super easy to prepare) or tops removed. I chose Turnips medium size that already had their green leafy tops removed. They have a roundish shape again comparable to an apple. The colors are usually half white with shades of purple, reddish pink, or green. And I loved this next line from www.alive.com "If you choose yellow, chances are you’re holding a rutabaga–a cousin to the turnip." I think this made me laugh because a) I love the word rutabaga, it just sounds funny. And b) I really took some time debating if I wanted to prepare the rutabaga or the turnip. Kind of a worthless debate as I started to look through recipes and saw for the most part rutabagas and turnips are easily interchangeable and are close in flavor profiles. Again, back to the turnip. My choice was medium sized, no top, and with a beautiful purple tint to the skin. This vegetable can be prepared so many different ways and its flavor profile allows it to blend well with most ingredients. Turnips are root vegetables so any way that you like to eat potatoes or sweet potatoes you can use the same method for the turnip. Turnips have a peppery note that finishes slightly sweet. If you choose smaller turnips most articles state they are even sweeter. As I mentioned I was a big fan of mashed potatoes. We first peeled the beautiful skin and then cubed them. They are a hearty root and after they were peeled they reminded me of a young coconut; milky white skin with a distinct shape (like an upside down house). Then the turnips were cubed for quicker cooking time. We put them in a pot with a couple of cubed potatoes. We boiled them with water barely covering the vegetables. You don't want to over boil as turnips have a good amount of water already in them. Mash 'em up and add what ingredients you choose. We used a little butter and sour cream to create a creamier texture and added a couple of spices to draw out the turnip's peppery notes. The turnip mash reminded me a lot of a cauliflower flavor profile. Where that spice flavor lasts a millisecond and then finishes off sweet. It was a very tasty and comforting dish. Turnips are a nutrition powerhouse. The following nutritional information is from the website www.nutritiondata.com "It (Turnip) is also a good source of Riboflavin, Magnesium, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Manganese." Great site that also shows you graphs like the glycemic load (turnips have a low glycemic count) and Amino Acid score (turnips qualify as a complete protein). On your HealthFULL Journey may you also have a chance to revisit childhood favorites and conquer childhood fears. 'Til we meet again. . .