Kerry McClure – Practical Wellness

March 9, 2015

The average American gets about 75% of their daily calories from as few as 10 different foods. As a nutritionist, one of the things I offer my clients is helping them discover a larger range of foods to choose from through recipe ideas, information and education. The more variety, the more nutrients you’ll eat and the less bored and stuck-in-a-rut you’ll be with your food choices.

On that note, have you ever eaten a sunchoke?
Whether you say “sunchoke” or “Jerusalem artichoke” both names refer to the plant’s flavor and its botanical ties to sunflowers. Native Americans called it the “sun root” because the plant’s yellow flowers turn toward the sun.

Raw sunchokes have a texture like water chestnuts that works well in salads. The taste is nutty and slightly sweet. Sunchokes can be used in soups, stews, mashes, and salads.

Shaved Sunchokes with Pink Grapefruit and Avocado
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium pink grapefruit
4 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp honey
2 tsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. ground coriander
1 ripe avocado, pitted and thinly sliced
2 medium unpeeled sunchokes, scrubbed and shaved into paper-thin “petals” with a mandoline or vegetable slicer
½ cup pomegranate seeds

Directions:
1. Trim both grapefruit ends to expose juicy flesh. Stand fruit upright, and remove peel and pith with paring knife, following curve of fruit from top to bottom. Hold fruit over bowl, and cut sections along membranes to release individual wedges.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, honey, oil, and coriander.

3. Divide grapefruit and avocado among 4 serving plates. Scatter with sunchoke petals, drizzle with dressing, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Health benefits of Jerusalem artichoke:
Jerusalem artichoke is moderately high in calories; provides about 73 calories per 100g, roughly equivalent to that of potatoes. The root has negligible amounts of fat and contains zero cholesterol. Nevertheless, it’s high-quality phyto-nutrition profile comprises of dietary fiber (non-starch carbohydrates), and antioxidants, in addition to small proportions of minerals, and vitamins.

It is one of the finest source dietary fibers, especially high in oligo-fructose inulin, which is a soluble non-starch polysaccharide. Inulin should not be confused for insulin, which is a hormone. The root flesh provides 1.6 mg or 4% of fiber. Inulin is a zero calorie, saccharine, and inert carbohydrate, which does not metabolize inside the human body, and thereby; make this tuber an ideal sweetener for diabetics and dieters. If you are diabetic, always check with your healthcare provider before adding foods to your eating plan.

Soluble, as well as insoluble fibers in it, add up to the bulk of food by retaining moisture in the gut. Studies suggest that adequate roughage in the diet help reduce constipation problem, and offer some protection against colon cancers by eliminating toxic compounds from the gut.

The tuber contains small amounts of anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E. These vitamins together with flavonoid compound like carotenes helps scavenge harmful free radicals, and thereby offers protection from cancers, inflammation and viral cough and cold.

Further, Jerusalem artichokes are a very good source of minerals and electrolytes, especially potassium, iron, and copper. 100g of fresh root contains 429mg or 9% of daily-required levels of potassium. Potassium is a heart friendly electrolyte; aids reduce blood pressure and heart rates by countering pressing effects of sodium.

100g of fresh sunchoke contains 3.4mg or 42.5% of iron, probably the highest amount of iron among the common edible roots and tubers.

It also contains small levels of some of valuable B-complex group of vitamins such as folates, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, and thiamin.

Source: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/jerusalem-artichoke.html

Recipe inspiration: Vegetarian Times, November 2013 p.64