Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are the best source of vitamins and minerals for the body during the winter season: red beets, carrots, cabbage, Jerusalem artichoke, celery, turnips, parsnips, potatoes. You can turn them into juices, salads and steamed vegetables.

Root vegetables have a more complex structure than the other vegetables. That makes them more appropriate for the human body in winter season. They are usually digested more slowly, and thus the body is satisfied for a longer period of time. You need to be careful not to overeat with them in raw form, as this could result in the imbalance of the doshas (balance between the emotional and the health state) in the body.

When and How to Consume Root Vegetables:

Root vegetables juice in the morning is good way to start the day with. Consuming them on an empty stomach as juice supplies the body with the appropriate elements to allow for adequate functioning and easier digestion of the heavier proteins and carbohydrate foods that are normally consumed in the winter. Root vegetables juice is rich in enzymes, easily digested sugars, large amounts of vitamins and trace elements: vitamin C, B group vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin PP, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, as well as a lot of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.

Suggested Juice Combinations:

• Carrot (150 ml) and cabbage (150 ml) juice.This is the best juice for people with gastrointestinal disorders. It terminates inflammation, cleanses and alkalizes the gastrointestinal tract. It also helps and recovers the natural gut flora. The potent antioxidant effects of the cabbage makes it an exquisite drug to fight cancer.
• Carrot (250 ml) and beetroot (50-100 ml) juice. This juice alkalizes, provides vitamins and minerals to the body which results in the terminations of a great number of bad bacteria. It affects favorably also liver diseases.
• Carrots (100 ml), Jerusalem artichoke (50 ml), celery (50 ml), beetroot (50 ml), cabbage (50 ml) juice. This juice is high in minerals, trace elements and vitamins. It aims at boosting the immune system and recovery after strenuous work and various diseases.

See more recipes for healthy juices, recommended by the Vita Rama team.

It is best to start lunch and dinner with a raw salad that should constitute about 40-50% of your lunch/dinner.

The salad can include finely grated root vegetables of your choice. This type of salad should be consumed before the main dish, thus favoring the easier digestion of the cooked food. Consuming cooked food only is found to exhaust the enzyme capacity and the body responds to that food as if it were a virus. Including raw salads prior to the main dish reduces that response by 60-70%. Salads with root vegetables are also referred to as "brooms" because of the cellulose they contain. It is not digested and starts swelling in the gastrointestinal tract, thus cleansing it from the accumulated toxins.

Suggested Salads:

• Finely grated carrots, beetroots and Jerusalem artichoke salad, in combination with alfalfa sprouts (6-7 days old), Chinese mung beans sprouts and 1 teaspoonful einkorn sprouts up to 2 mm long. Season the salad with a little Himalayan salt and spices - basil, dill, parsley.
• Finely grated carrots and cabbage salad. You can optionally combine it with the above-mentioned sprouts. Season the salad with a little Himalayan salt and spices - basil, dill, parsley.

The second part of the lunch and dinner menu is recommended to be steamed vegetables. Carrots, red beets, Jerusalem artichoke and celery are considered to be the right choice to calm the gastrointestinal tract. In some cases it is even recommended to steam shortly root vegetables salads as well. However, let them stay semi-raw and crispy. Thus they will warm you in the winter. Steamed potatoes are appropriate winter food as well, but you need to be careful what foods you combine them with. The most appropriate combinations are with salads only (no tomatoes) and other steamed vegetables. Combining potatoes with grains, beans, seeds, nuts and animal foods is not recommended. These unfavorable combinations impede digestion, and as a result food starts fermentation process and dysbacteriosis develops.

Suggested Steamed Vegetables:

• Steamed beetroot. Steam the red beets whole or cut in 2 halves and then cut it into thin cubes. Season with some lemon (or homemade apple cider vinegar) and basil (dry or fresh).
• Steamed cabbage. Steam the cabbage whole or in two halves to the extent of being slightly crunchy. Then cut it into small pieces and season with some homemade apple cider vinegar, red peppers and a small amount of Himalayan salt. When mixed well, it gets the taste of sauerkraut.
• Steamed carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, celery, parsnips mix, you can also add broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers. Steam the vegetables whole or in 2 halves and then cut into cubes, peel the red pepper. Season with a little amount of Himalayan salt.

Consuming root crops as juices, salads and steamed vegetables is the best way to supply your body with all the necessary nutrients in the winter season.

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