The raw materials for human food ultimately come from various organisms in nature, namely plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Plants are divided into parts such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, and mushrooms have distinct parts like the cap and the stipe. As for animals, they also have different components like bones, cartilage, meat, blood, internal organs, and skin.
For a living organism, all these parts are naturally important and none can be missing. However, when people use them as food, they are accustomed to keeping some parts and discarding others. The parts we keep provide us with nutrition, while the discarded parts become "kitchen waste" that pollutes the environment.
Why throw them away? There are many reasons: perhaps the texture is a bit less pleasant, or the appearance is a bit less appealing, or sometimes there's no reason at all—it's just a habit picked up from parents who used to throw them away.
But what exactly are you throwing away? Is there anything among the discarded parts that is a real pity? Bad Habit 1
——Cutting off the tender green leaves of cabbage and celery
——Throwing away the leaves of lettuce
——Throwing away the outer leaves of bok choy.
Commentary: Almost every part of a vegetable has nutritional value, and the leaves are the factories where plants synthesize nutrients and the essence of their nutrition. Throwing them away greatly reduces the vegetable's nutritional value. For example, the concentration of carotene in the outer green leaves of bok choy is more than ten times higher than in the inner white leaves, and the vitamin C content is also several times higher. Another example: the leaves of lettuce contain more carotene, vitamin C, and lutein than its stalk. In fact, romaine lettuce is lettuce grown for its leaves, and lettuce leaves are even more fragrant and flavorful than romaine. Just a difference in name, how can their fates be so different?
Solution: If you feel that stir-frying them together doesn't have a good texture, don't throw the leaves away. Instead, pick them off, make a separate dish of greens, or use the leaves to make soup or fillings. Wouldn't that be the perfect solution?
Bad Habit 2
——Peeling the skin of eggplants
——Thickly peeling the skin of radishes, apples, sweet potatoes, etc.
——Removing the skin of tomatoes
Commentary: These practices also remove the nutritional essence of the vegetables. The most praised benefit of eggplants for strengthening blood vessels comes from their skin, which contains the vast majority of the anthocyanin antioxidants in the eggplant, as well as high concentrations of pectin and flavonoids. It's a real shame to throw it away. The pungent skin of radishes contains a significant amount of isothiocyanates, which are the key components in radishes' anti-cancer properties. The skins of apples, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes are particularly rich in antioxidants and dietary fiber and also have a certain anti-cancer effect. If you can keep more of the skin, or even eat it, it is obviously more beneficial to health.
Solution: When eating vegetables, try to eat them whole. The feeling of pure and natural is the best. Don't pursue a "state" of being extra crispy, extra white, or extra sweet. If you find them unappealing in color or texture, you can adjust the cooking method or make them into a separate dish. For example, the old Beijing-style "stir-fried eggplant skin" and "dressed radish skin" are unique, combining health and deliciousness. Bad Habit 3
——Pinching off both ends of bean sprouts
——Throwing away the white spongy part of green peppers where the seeds grow
——Throwing away the white core of winter melon
Commentary: The most nutritious part of bean sprouts is not the tender white sprout, but the pale yellow tip, and the roots are the highest in fiber. The time-consuming and laborious process of "pinching" the sprouts actually yields a negative return. The white cores of green peppers and winter melon are areas with exceptionally high vitamin C content, and it's also a pity to throw them away.
Solution: If you get used to eating them, you'll find that the texture is actually quite good. Just wash them and toss them into the pot!