I kind of chuckled when I wrote the title of the post this morning… as if every week doesn’t bring with it challenges right??  Ha!

But here is the challenge that I presented to myself this week ( as if I needed another challenge! I just crack myself up!).

Each month when I have my class, we have to do a food therapy on ourselves.  In the past I have done things like take new supplements, the green veggie cleanse ( which was wow!), and targeted food therapies for specific symptoms.

This month, I decided that I was going to expand my repertoire of phyto-nutrients!  In other words, I am going to try a new vegetable every day for one week!  I decided I was going to throw a couple new grains in there as well, just to be CRAZY!

In 2009, the CDC reported that 73.7% of Americans ate less than three servings of vegetables per day.  That is when they set the 2010 goals for 50% of Americans consume at least three servings of veggies per day.  Pretty scary when you think about it.  So sad that we have to set such low standards for our health.

I will jump off my soapbox now.

Here I go!  I am going to explore the produce section of Whole Foods this week and experiment with new veggies and grains and how to prepare them.

I thought I would share!

First up- Bok Choy

Baby bok choy (Photo credit: dollen)

This delicate Chinese cabbage is just as it looks.

It has green leafy tops and a soft white stalk.

It boast several health benefits beginning with the fact that it is in the Brassica family which contain several antioxidant phyto-nutrients that help to prevent cancers.

High in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, Bok Choy also has more beta-carotine than cabbage and supplies considerably more Calcium.  (reference: The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia by Rebecca Wood)

Whew!  All that from this little delicate cabbage.

The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia states that medicinally:

” Bok Choy is a chi tonic that energized the stomach and large interesting functions and helps clear excess water, mucus, and toxins.  It is effective in cases of heat congestion in the lungs which, in the early stages typically would have symptoms such as fevers, chills, dry cough, shortness of breath and thick mucus discharge. “

That is pretty awesome.

So I prepared it simply.  I cut it, put it in a pan with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and cooked it for a very short time to try to maintain its nutrient content as much as possible.

A plate of cooked bok choy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Delicate, a little sweet, and tasty!  I thought it was quite delish and I would absolutely buy it and make it again.

I am sure I have had it before, but I had just never prepared it in my own kitchen.

Do you have any experience with bok choy?

Related articles

• Bok choy mushroom soup (belesaaru.wordpress.com)
• Recipe: Daikon with Baby Bok Choi (fearlesskitchen.com)
• Cabbage, did you know it contains more vitamin c than an orange (womanshealthychef.wordpress.com)