Real Food Basics

What to Do with Artichokes – Real Food Basics

Artichokes bring back child hood memories for me as I remember loving to “pick” the leaves of the artichoke and get to dip them in melted butter. Now, since I grew up in the “scared of fat” and “fat free” era, butter was not a part of my every day life. So that made eating artichokes even more exciting for me, because I got to dip something in BUTTER!! Fast forward over 20 years, and research now shows us that it’s not fat that’s the big evil villain for our health, but sugar. And especially the combination of high sugar and high fat together. But enough about that, and let’s talk more about artichokes…

Artichokes are very high in antioxidants and they have a really high ORAC value, meaning they have a powerful ability to fight oxidative stress in the body. ORAC stands for “oxygen radical absorption capacity”, which tests the power of a plant to absorb and eliminate free radicals in the body. Artichokes contain a lot of good fiber and support good gut health. The fiber in artichokes also helps stabilize blood sugar.

What to make with artichokes:

Real Food Basics

What to Do with Eggplant – Real Food Basics

Eggplant, or aubergine as it’s called in most of the world, is one of few fruits that you should never eat raw (yes it’s actually a fruit, not a vegetable!). Because of it’s unique skin, eggplant is one produce that is not as important to buy organic.

Eggplant is often called “poor man’s meat” because when cooked well it has a little similar taste to meat. My favorite meat & eggplant combination is ground meat and cubed eggplant, fried together with chopped onion in coconut oil. Add some salt, pepper and a bit of cinnamon (sounds weird but it’s really good!). You can also add some cayenne pepper. Serve this dish together with cauliflower rice or add some cooked beans and eat it with a spoon. The most important thing i that you try eggplant with ground meat, because it’s really good!! :)

What to make with eggplant: