According to Dr. Everett Koop (former US Surgeon General) and to Health magazine, 10 of the most nutritious vegetables in the world are:
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Brussels sprouts
- Lima beans
- Peas
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Cauliflower
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
Number one – Broccoli
Broccoli belongs to the cabbage family (Brassicaceae – to be more specific). The green flower heads and the stalk of the plant are both edible. Broccoli plants are closely related to cauliflowers, although the plants have extremely different colors.
Broccoli contains high quantities of vitamin C, soluble fibers and the compound glucoraphanin. Glucoraphanin in broccoli leads to anticancer compound sulforaphane. (for more information related to anticancer effect of broccoli, please visit http://www.the-perfectshape.com/2007/02/03/the-wonders-of-broccoli/)
Referring to the history of broccoli, the plant was first mentioned in France in 1560 (the name “broccoli” is Italian). 150 years later, in England, the plant was still unknown and was called “sprout colli-flower” or “Italian asparagus”.
During the centuries, broccoli has became a very popular vegetable. The plant is now mentioned in a lot of TV shows, cartoons. There even is a world contest for eating broccoli. The actual champion is Tom “Broccoli” Landers, who ate 1 pound of broccoli in 92 seconds. The secret, he says, is: “Just swallow, don’t bother to chew”.
Eating 100g of raw broccoli can give you (according to the USDA Nutrient database):
So, by eating 100 g of broccoli, your body gathers two times more vitamin C as compared to oranges. Also, broccoli has only 0.37 g of fat, while chicken breast and steak have 7 g and 18 g, respectively. Broccoli has almost half of the total quantity of calcium in milk (in 100 g of milk there are 113 mg of calcium, while broccoli has 47 mg).
Although it might seem a little strange, broccoli is not seen only as a very healthy and nutritious food. There are a lot of delicious cakes that are made of broccoli. Here an example for you:
BROCCOLI CAKE
500 g unsalted butter, softened 
Preparation: the oven is first heated to 180ºC; butter a 25 cm loaf tin and line its base and sides with parchment paper; blanch the broccoli in boiling water for about 3 minutes, then drain well; beat the butter till it is very light and creamy, then beat in the sugar; add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix together the baking powder, turmeric, curry powder and salt, and fold into the mixture with the flour; mix well and spoon into the preferred thin; push the broccoli into the mixture; bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Number two – Spinach
Spinach belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, native to central and southwestern Asia. At the beginning, spinach was cultivated in Persia and in 647 arrived to China where it was called “the herb of Persia”.
In the past, spinach was considered to be one of the best sources of iron. In reality, 100 g of raw spinach has 2.7 mg of iron (about 22% of the daily recommended doze for adults), a very high concentration for a vegetable but not as high as people believed in the past.
Still, the quantity of iron made available by spinach for the human body depends on its absorption. Iron enters the body in two forms: heme and nonheme iron. All the iron in grains and vegetables and more than half of the iron in animal food sources is nonheme iron. Heme iron can be found only in meat and in smaller quantities.
Nonheme iron is absorbed much slower as compared to heme iron. Still, the abruption process is influenced by the presence of other elements, like: binders – fiber, enhancers – vitamin C, etc.
So, the good news is that consuming foods rich in vitamin C increases the absorption of iron. However, the bad news is that spinach contains high levels of oxalate, substance that binds with iron to form ferrous oxalate and remove iron from the body (consuming foods with high levels of oxalates will decrease substantially the quantity of iron absorbed by the human body).
A funny thing about spinach is that in 1870, Dr. E. von Wolf published an iron content in spinach that was ten times too high. The scientist misplaced a decimal point in his publication, transforming spinach in the most miraculous vegetable in the world. This lead to numerous stories, including the famous “Popey the sailor man”. Still, the truth was revealed in 1937 by a German chemist who corrected the mistake.
Besides iron, spinach is also a good source of calcium. Calcium absorption, as iron absorption, is influenced by oxalate. The body can only absorb about 5% of the total quantity of calcium in spinach.
Spinach also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, antioxidants and folic acid. The most important nutrients in spinach (100 g), as mentioned in the USDA Nutrient Database, are presented below:
Caution: reheating spinach may cause the formation of poisonous compounds that are especially harmful to infants younger than six months.
The nutrients in spinach are very important for red blood cell formation, growth and cell division and protein metabolism. It also contains lutein, a very important antioxidant for eye, skin and cardiovascular health. Vitamin C and vitamin A plus the folic acid and fiber help the body fight cancer, especially colon, lung and breast cancer. Spinach also protects the body against heart diseases and against age related memory loss (flavonoids).
One of the best dishes, using spinach, is Spinach Souffle. Here’s how to prepare it:
1 egg
How to prepare: preheat oven to 175º C; whisk together egg, milk, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper; fold in spinach; bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. (continued…)
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