Photography, Useful

Artichoke

cookingwithoutlimits

artichoke recipes

Artichoke is one of the popular flower bud of Mediterranean origin in the winter.

The ancients considered the artichoke full of health benefits, using it as an aphrodisiac, a diuretic, a breath freshener, and even a deodorant.

Artichokes can be found throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, but they are less frequently encountered in Asian nations.

The edible part of the artichokes is buds that form within the flower head, before it fully blooms. One of the most sought after parts of the thistle is the “heart and it is often considered a delicacy, and is typically more expensive.

Artichokes are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, but are a rich source of fiber, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, B12, A, E, D and vitamin K. Artichokes also provide calcium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc.

In the store, choose fresh artichokes that feel heavy for their size and without any cuts or bruise. Its leaves should be compact (appose tightly together), should feature dark green and squeak slightly when squeezed. Avoid very large, tough globes as they are unappetizing.

The globes best used while they are fresh. However, they can keep well if stored inside the refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag for up to a week.

Health Benefits

  • Artichoke contains a number of vital antioxidants and phytonutrients, such as quercetin, rutin, gallic acid, and cynarinwhich fight against cancer.
  • Artichoke reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.
  • The high concentration of cynarin in artichokes can contribute to aiding in digestive health.
  • Artichokes also contain the flavonoid silymarin, a powerful liver protectant.
  • Artichoke is helping the body to detox itself of waste, extra cholesterol, sugar and toxins, plus fiber acts to facilitate liver function and to make us feel full after eating.
  • The high amount of fiber found in artichokes has the ability to help keep blood sugar levels stable, avoiding spikes and dips in insulin that can lead to serious problems for diabetics.
  • A one cup serving of artichokes provides about 10% of the average person’s daily requirement for iron.
  • Artichoke is a perfect hangover cure, and some people choose to chew on a few artichoke leaves after a night of heavy drinking.
  • The minerals in artichokes are essential parts of increasing bone health and density, thereby reducing the chances of conditions like osteoporosis.

Some people are allergic to artichokes, so be careful. An artichoke diet should be used as a preventative method for liver and gallbladder disease, not a cure. Finally, it does make people urinate more frequently, so if you already suffer from an overactive bladder, artichokes could make that minor condition even worse.

 

 

Advertisements

Published by cookingwithoutlimits

Hi. My name is Gabi and I am a professional photographer, a new mom and a wife. I wanna learn to cook healthy food for my little one, so I made this blog to share my cooking experiments with everyone. It's gone be a long and a bumpy ride but a funny one, so stay tune for news and enjoy my ride.

75 thoughts on “Artichoke”

  2. Thank you! I printed this one out for future grocery shopping. Artichokes seem to include everything needed to keep depression away.

    Reply
  6. Pingback: Artichoke | My Meals are on Wheels

  7. This is great information. Do you have an interesting recipe for them? I know everyone just steams them but I thought there might be some variations. Thanks for the info though, they are in the stores now so we’ll try them.

    Bill

    Reply

  10. Reblogged this on Garden Dreams! and commented:
    It is really low maintenance and tasty. One bud has enough seeds to plant a field. The only turn down is the year wait for production to start.

    Ours got eaten inside out by an unknown bug so I had to throw them away. Will plant more this weekend.

    Reply

  22. I went to university very close to the big artichoke growing areas in California and learned to love them. I put marinated artichokes in my pasta salad. When I steam them someties I just take off the petals and use them like chips to pick up a dip or stuff them with minced baby shrimp.in garlic butter. They are very healthy and delicious stuffed that way instead of bread crumbs, my Italian neighbor taught me.

    Reply

  23. Artichokes are one of those vegetables that are not highly known. I find them to be a great alternative to meat and taste amazing on a vegetarian or vegan pizza. thank you for shearing the health benefits of this beautiful vegetable.

    Reply

  24. I’m so glad you stopped by my blog and liked it. I would not have found your blog otherwise. I love it. It’s beautiful. I hope to learn much among its pages. Thank you.

    Reply

    2. If you leave the artichoke on the plant it will bloom into a very beautiful purple blue flower. As a kid I remember seeing these. Google artichoke images and you will most likely see a pic of the flower.

      Reply

      1. Forgive me.. I surely didn’t intend to sound so bossy. Hope you found a pic. They are an interesting vegetable. Looking forward to some recipes. I need to learn to like and eat them 🙂

  36. Hi I’m new to the blogging life and was wondering if you could read my work and follow me I’d appreciate it as i am interested in literature and spoken word and lack a bit of confidence Thank you for your time and have a nice day

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. ( Log Out / Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s