Purslane, Verdolaga, miracle nutrition

 Right along with Dandelions, Purslane (Spanish Verdolaga), is one of those plants that is too often disregarded, if not seen as a weed, but it is a nutrition powerhouse.

Since I have been writing about recipes with purslane, I wanted to basically post a recent article that talks about puslane.

I asked one of the Bangladeshi merchants on my street about it, why he did not sell it in his store. The answer was oh, I grow that in my yard. In other words it was too easy to sell it in the store.

Anyway here is a posting on a site called WorldCrops. It contains an album of pictures of Purslane. They have adopted the Spanish name of Verdolaga.

I find it at a Mexican store in my area.

And here is yet another article:

https://www.newsbreak.com/share/3550869690554-purslane-the-underestimated-superfood-with-maximum-health-benefits

Econo #WFPB #4 Dal with stems from various leafy greens.

 

Here is a huge bunch of Purslane (Verdolaga), and note below my potato salad with the leaves. 

Next to it, you will see the stems. I cut them up in 1 inch pieces (Verdolaga is fairly soft, and freeze them, and I will have stems from Kale and Collard greens, or Malabar Spinach, and I cut those in 1/4" pieces when I use the leaves, and save them in a ziploc bag until I am ready to make dal again. Or, alternatively I can use various odds and ends to even cook my own vegetable broth one day.

And the last image is a plate of dal, along the lines of the recipe, but including stems of purslane, kale, collard greens and even malabar spinach, but it could be any stems of leafy greens. The stems can be tougher, but when you make the dal, I cook thos stems, cut in small chunks, right along with the onions and peppers to form the base. Then when you add teh lentils and simmer it some more, those stems are pretty soft and they add a lot of depth to the flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of panch puran
• 1 cup water with Yondu for the sauté
• 1 medium/small Onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 carrots, shredded or sliced thin
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2-3 Thai chilis
• 1 Jalapeño
• 1 cup red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp parsley flakes or fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp salt-free chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chipotle powder (or more)
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 tsp cumin, milled
• 1 tsp caraway, milled
• 1 tsp fennel, milled
• 1 piece of turmeric minced, or a tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 14.5 Oz can of diced tomato (fire roasted)
• 1 6 Oz can of salt-free tomato paste

Directions

• Set aside the tomatoes, red bell pepper.
• In a large soup pot, first roast the tablespoon of panch puran, then water sauté or dry sauté the onion, garlic, peppers until translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients but not the tomatoes, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook until lentils are creamy, about 20 minutes.
• Blend the tomatoes, bell pepper and garlic in blender and blend until smooth. Skip this step if you like it chunky.
• a) Place all ingredients in an electric pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes,
  or
  b) place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
• Garnish with finely chopped scallions and a sprinkling of Faux Parmesan (or nutritional yeast).

Notes

Optionally, you can make this with more veggies, liek beet greens, chard, and other such. In that case, I left out the tomato puree.

I also made it more spicy and aromatic than the original from chef AJ, but by including veggies, it becomes more of a dal.

Econo #WFPB #3 Fingeling potatoes with Purslane

I wrote about this simple spring salad of fingerling potatoes with purslane for the first time in 2017 (link).

As a refresher, here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb fingerling potatoes
• 1 cup purslane leaves
• 3/2/1 dressing with one lemon or lime (3tbsp balsamic, 2 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp maple syrup)
• red onion
• either 1/2 teaspoon of piment d'espelette or
• (1 heaping teaspoon of paprika powder and
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper)
• 1-2 tsp of dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• boil the potatoes
• cut in small chunks
• pluck the leaves off the purslane and reserve the stems for another use.
• make the salad dressing
• mix

The reason I want to write about this now in terms of kitchen economics, is that it appears not to be economical, but it all depends on a lot of circumstantial stuff. Take note of the fact that purslane is very, very nutritions, see here (https://www.verywellfit.com/purslane-nutrition-facts-4692802) : 

One cup of purslane contains:

• Calories: 8.6
• Fat: 0.2g
• Sodium: 19.4mg
• Carbohydrates: 1.5g
• Fiber: Not provided
• Sugars: Not provided
• Protein: 0.9g
• Vitamin C: 9mg
• Potassium: 212mg
• Iron: 0.9mg
• Magnesium: 29.2mg

But purslane (Spanish Verdolaga) is not usually cheap, and this recipe calls for the leaves only, so I saved the stems and used them in my next dal.

Those are the kind of little tricks that are the engine of kitchen economics, and they are fun to figure out. In my next piece I will write about the dal.

Baby Potatoes with Purslane Salad

[Contributed by Megan Saynisch, from the Real Food Right Now series

View on sustainabletable.org]

This is a delicious simple recipe. You can routinely get Purslane (Verdolaga) at the Mexican store Frutas Y Vegetales La Reyna at 1300-1302 Beach Avenue/corner Westchester Ave (opposite The South of France Restaurant.

Look at this nutrition information:
https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Verdolagas_Mexican_Parsley_9494.php

quote

Nutritional Value

Verdolagas is rich in potassium and magnesium and contains as much beta carotene as spinach. It also contains the omega three fatty acid known as alpha linolenic acid, which studies have shown can be helpful in lowering blood pressure and regulating cholesterol levels. Recent studies have also shown that Verdolagas contains a significant amount of melatonin as well.

unquote

Ingredients

1 lb fingerling potatoes, or young potatoes.
1 cup purslane leaves

3/2/1 dressing with one lemon or lime (3tbsp balsamic, 2 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp maple syrup)

red onion cut up fine

either 1/2 teaspoon of piment d'espelette (alternatively, 1 heaping teaspoon of paprika powder and  1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper)

1-2 tsp of dill

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• boil the potatoes cut in small chunks
• pluck the leaves off the purslane and reserve the stems for another use ( like making your own veggie broth or soup)
• make the salad dressing
• mix

Fingerling Potatoes

This week, fingerling potatoes were around on Starling Avenue.

They lend themselves to making a lovely potato salad, especially with Purslane, which is always available at the Mexican store, on Westchester Ave, corner Beach Avenue.

A simple recipe is:

Salad of Fingerling Potatoes with Purslane

Ingredients

1 lb fingerling potatoes
1 cup purslane leaves
3/2/1 dressing with one lemon or lime (3tbsp balsamic, 2 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp maple syrup)
red onion,
1-2 tbsp of dill. Alternatively a half a cup of fresh dill, if you can get it.

either 1/2 teaspoon of piment d'espelette or
(1-2 heaping teaspoon of paprika powder and
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper)

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

boil the potatoes, and cut them in chunks, ca 1/2 -3/4" thickness.

pick the leaves off the purslane and reserve the stems for another use.

make the salad dressing

mix

Our 3/17 Suppers/#WFPB Communal Meal Prep at St. Helena's

Point number one is, we had a great time! And, since it was St Patrick's day, I wore a Shamrock on my face!

That's me at the CB9 Mental Health fair,
with my St. Patrick's day decoration.

The table with full results on display

Recipes

Hokkaido Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

1 average sized organic Hokkaido pumpkin,cut into chunks (de-seed but don't peel) - We used Kabocha Squash instead, which worked fine.
2 onions chopped
3-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1-2 inch piece of ginger sliced, or ginger powedr
2-3 pieces of turmeric sliced, or turmeric powder
pint of vegetable stock
1-2 jalapenos, seeded
2-3 small green chilies, sliced
2 table spoons of whole wheat flour

Preparation

1. brown the onions with garlic, chili and jalapeno, and gradually add some veggie stock, and the whole wheat flour.
2. gradually add all of the soup stock, and let it boil for a while
3. add the pumpkin and let it boil about 20 mins.
4. Allow the soup to cool down a little then pour into a blender and blend at high speed till smooth and creamy, or use an immersion blender to achieve the same result.

Mixed Green Salad with Mushrooms & Radish

Ingredients:

Mixed greens, e.g. red leaf, green leaf, baby kale, baby spinach, radicchio, etc.
One red onion, cut up fine
Red or yellow pepper, cut in strips
Tomatos, cut in 1/8th pieces
Box of white mushrooms, sliced
Radishes, sliced thin
a cup of parsley leaves, chopped
optional: some olives, capers

Dressing:

3/2/1: 3 tbsp balsamic, 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard, 1 Tbsp Maple syrup
Juice of one lemon
optional: one or more garlic cloves, crushed and chopped up.

Potato Salad with Purslane (Sp. Verdolaga, Bengali: Meti) 

Ingredients

1 lb. fingerling potatoes, or young potatoes scrubbed and halved (or quartered if very large)
1 red onion, cut up fine
Braggs liquid aminos
3 tbsp balsamic. 2tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp maple syrup
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄4 teaspoon (or more, to taste) piment d'espelette (or substiture 1 tsp paprika with a pinch of cayenne pepper)
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 cup purslane leaves (reserve stems for another use)

Preparation

Put the potatoes in a large, heavy saucepan and just barely cover with water (the water should come up no more than 1⁄2 inch above the potatoes). Add a pinch of kosher salt to the potatoes and turn the heat up to high.
When boiling, reduce to a high simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart (when you pierce them with the tip of a knife you will meet no resistance). Cooking time will vary greatly with the kind of potato you use and how large they are. Start checking after about 10 minutes and keep a close eye on them to avoid mushy potatoes.

Carefully drain the potatoes in a large colander. Put the colander (with the potatoes in it) back over the pot the potatoes were cooked in and drizzle with some vinegar, adding the cutup onion. Let the potatoes sit in the colander for 15-20 minutes to allow steam to escape, and to cool.

Meanwile, make the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the 3/2/1 dressing and the lemon juice, the piment d'espelette, the dill and a large pinch of kosher salt. Set aside. Substitute paprika with a dash of cayenne for the piment d'espelette as needed.

To make the salad: in a large serving bowl, add the cooled potatoes and chopped onions and gently toss with the dressing (I usually just use my hands). Taste and correct for taste: add liquid aminos to taste. Gently toss in the purslane leaves. Serve immediately.

Reminder: 

 The whole foods, plant-based #WFPB = WFPB minus SOS diet means:

• Whole foods, never refined foods
• Plant-based with minimal processing (cooking is OK)
• No ADDED Sugar, Oil, or Salt (SOS).

The full discussion can be found on the website of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell.
To check on specific ingredients, to make sure they are consistent with the diet, there is an excellent guide on the Engine2 Website. You can query and individual ingredient and check if it is consistent with the diet.

Nevertheless, there will always be dubious cases, such as Braggs Liquid Aminos, which have 1/3rd the sodium of low sodium soy sauce. Some will say it still has too much sodium. By and large you can prevent using a lot of sodium by using more herbs and spices. Some will definitely accept Braggs as a suitable alternative.

A note about diabetes:

Some in our group are dealing with either pre-diabetes or early stage diabetes. There are great resources available today for the dietary approach, and different practitioners suggest that between 70-85% of diabetics can actually reverse the condition with diet and some can come off all medications within 6 months or so. Rip Esselstyn reports that prediabetics can frequently turn the condition around in a week in his workshop.
An excellent resource is the 7-day rescue diet, and you can either get Rip's book, or you can participate via email from the Engine2 site here: Engine2 Seven-Day Rescue Challenge.
Recently, Dr. Neal Barnard released two new books that can give you all the answers you need in dealing with diabetes with diet - but you should always work with your doctor, in order to make sure your medications are adjusted appropriately. Here are the books:

• Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs.
• Dr. Neal Barnard's Cookbook for Reversing Diabetes: 150 Recipes Scientifically Proven to Reverse Diabetes Without Drugs
  
   

There is also a great book by Dr. Joel Fuhrman: The End of Diabetes

Finally, there is the iThrive series of nine Internet documentaries which is about the efforts by one morbidly obese diabetic, Jon McMahon, to turn his life around with the nutritional approach, and there is much to be learned there. He also interviews all the doctors and nutrition experts in this area. It is an unbelievably stimulating production. I blogged about it here: https://starlingavevegan.blogspot.com/2018/03/ithrive-diabetes-whole-foods-plant.html

In short, anybody who is on medication, should work with their doctor, but you do have options and in a large number of cases, diabetes is proving to be reversible. If your doctor is not interested to support you on the dietary route, then find yourself a doctor who practices lifestyle medicine, by looking them up in the directory of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, here:

https://www.lifestylemedicine.org/Find-a-Lifestyle-Medicine-Practitioner  

There is at least one doctor in our area, Dr. Sharon Wasserstrom at the Montefiore office at 2300 Westchester Avenue.

If you're in the Bronx, and want to stay in touch, please join our FaceBook group, Plant-Based DaBronx, or join our meetup for Starling Avenu Vegan.

About Omega-3 and Omega-6: It's the #WFPB Paradigm, stupid...

The correct balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 is hard to get, nutritionally, except if you are following the #WFPB program. This is just another way of realizing that #WFPB, or also the "plant strong" and "plant perfect" diets, as Rip Esselstyn likes to call them are not "diets" per se, but more variations within a new nutritional paradigm.

The point was driven home to me rather forcefully again the other day, when I ended up facilitating an exchange between T. Colin Campbell and a biochemist friend. The said biochemist is a researcher who knows a lot about different nutrients, and often from first hand research. He is also a great critical thinker. Among other things, he made me aware of the ignominious start of the Harvard nutrition program under Frederick Stare, one of the seriously compromised researchers in the health field, who essentially was a paid promoter for the Standard American Diet, which we now know is making people sick. Nevertheless, on this occasion he was limited by the paradigm he spoke from, i.e. the Standard American Diet, and various diets that are variations on it.

The standard advice to vegans is to get some vegan EPA/DHA supplements, but it turns out that if you eat a reasonably balanced Whole Foods Plant-Based diet, you end up with Omega-3 and 6 in the proper balance almost automatically. Understanding this underscores again the fact that #WFPB is a nutritionally complete paradigm, with almost the sole exception being some B12, and maybe some D3 in winter.

Here it is in the words of Colin Campbell (in private correspondence):

quote
When one consumes a truly whole food plant based diet, without added oil (it is the added oil not the high fat plant foods), the ratio will be around a very healthy 1:1, to 3:1 (omega 6 to omega 3). The problem with people speaking about this ratio out of context is that they are grossly omitting the myriad effects of other dietary component and, worse, the underlying biochemistry. 

unquote

In short, don't mess with success. If you're doing #WFPB, things take care of themselves nutritionally, it is within the SAD and its dietary variants where one is constantly at risk of not getting sufficient intake of one nutrient or another.

The Paradigm Shift

I remember growing up, when my parents became vegetarians, my mother was always concerned about:  but how are you going to get your proteins. And her cooking pattern for two decades largely was potatos, vegetables, and something in the place of meat. That last piece would be the protein source. There was zero knowledge or awareness that vegetables and grains have proteins, let alone enough proteins, but the truth is that spinach is 51% protein, and the lowly potato or brown rice each have about 9% protein. Plus, of course, we know now, since the China Study, that we want to beware against over consuming protein. The ideal range is 5-10% and not the more typical 15-25% which we see in SAD. More importantly, we want our proteins from plant sources, not animal sources.

What really is scary about this paradigm shift, is how long it has remained a secret, or, in the words of T. Colin Campbell:
quote
The research in "The China Study" was handsomely funded by NIH (a very competitive process, 70 grant years of funding), was published in the very best nutrition and cancer journals and I have since presented this material to well over 150 medical schools and their conferences (over 700 total invited presentations since the book was published).
unquote
It is now forty years since Campbell began publishing papers, followed by the first edition of the book in 2005. Still, this information is not well known, although that is rapidly changing.





What is hard to fathom for many is that suddenly maximizing protein intake is no longer a virtue and, if you maximize anything, it is fiber. The other thing that is hard to understand is the no-added oil precept. We hear too much about supposedly healthy oils, that may be healthier compared to the worst, but the body still does not need them. As Dr. Ostfeld from Montefiore Hospital likes to put it, added oils are like inviting Mike Tyson to practice on your veins. For six hours after an oily meal, your veins loose their oompf. Along with that, adding oils the balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 is upset, and you don't want that.

Sources of Omega-3 fatty acid for vegans

You can find ample articles online that document good sources of Omega-3 and/or how to achieve a balanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio. Most of it is geared to the wrong paradigm for veganism, and not to the #WFPB diet, or plant strong or plant-perfect. Often times articles point to supplements, but if you follow what Colin Campbell says above, you need not worry. Good sources of Omega-3 for vegans are Chia seeds, Flax seeds, and various vegetables. One that is especially good is Verdolaga, a.k.a. Purslane. 

https://worldcrops.org/crops/verdolaga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

http://www.gracelinks.org/blog/4236/real-food-right-now-and-how-to-cook-it-purslane

Purslane from Wikipedia

I recently discovered that Verdolaga grows between corn, and it was available at our Parkchester Green  Market, along with some of the sweetest corn I've tasted in years.


Simple recipe, based on the one listed on Gracelinks above: 

Potato salad with Purslane

• essentially follow their (Gracelinks') steps, except:
• If you can't get fresh dill, use dried, and reconstitute it with some lime juice and lemon juice. That will do the job very quickly.
• if you do the above, you barely need and dressing for this salad other than the lime/lemon juice. But if you need more dressing, obviously you make it oil-free. 
• That's really all, and itś finger-licking good. 

For the Potato salad, I used the leaves, with the stems I made a sauce, with onions, garlic pimentos, some turmeric, and a cup of vegetable bouillon and a bit of arrowroot to thicken it. Et voilà, that made a great sauce over a plate of long beans over rice.

You can also add the leaves to salad, and the next project will be to cook a split pea soup with the remainder of the purslane.