Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.

-Proverbs 15:17

What is the value of cooked vegetables? First of all, there can be a great pleasure in sitting down to a hot bowl of soup or a bowl full of steaming hot carrots, potatoes and corn on the cob. Secondly, cooked vegetables are an excellent source of soft bulk. The enzymes are dead, the minerals and vitamins have been compromised through cooking, but vegetables are filled with fiber and, when cooked, they become soft, making them excellent in absorbing but reducing the scouring effect that raw vegetables would have.

Eating some cooked vegetables with a mostly raw diet will ensure a clean colon. The challenge in cooking vegetables is not to baptize them in toxic fat. Remember to chew the vegetables well because 50% of starch digestion takes place in the mouth.

STEAMING VEGETABLES

A steamer with a built-in timer is the best way to cook vegetables. Most people when boiling their vegetables, throw away the best part – the cooking water. Steaming vegetables conserves the maximum amount of nutrients by subjecting the vegetables to the least amount of heat. Cut your vegetables into small pieces for quicker steaming.

45 Minutes – beets, carrots, turnips, squash and artichokes

25 Minutes – sweet potatoes, broccoli stalks, green beans, peas, parsnips and celery

15 Minutes – garlic and cabbage, sweet peppers, cauliflower, onions and asparagus stalks

7 Minutes – mushrooms, broccoli tips, asparagus tips, and zucchini