Questions and Answers about Vegetables found in the Mediterranean Diet

If allium compounds are destroyed in the cooking pro­cess, what is the best way to include them in the diet? Raw onions and garlic?

To many people, raw onions and garlic are too strongly flavored to be palatable when eaten alone. However, minced or even thinly sliced raw onions make an aromatic addition to a salad, and minced fresh garlic tastes great in an olive oil vinaigrette salad dressing. Raw chives are another delicious addition to salads and make a crunchy garnish to other foods, from the traditional cottage cheese to grain-based dishes and pasta dishes. When you do cook onions and gar­lic, try to cook them for as short a time as possible. When making soups and stews, sprinkle a few chopped onions on top, and/or add the garlic (or half the garlic) toward the end of the cooking time.

Are the familiar herbs and spices used in Mediterranean cuisine of any nutritional value, or are they purely for fla­voring?

Herbs and spices are plant foods and are rich with nutri­ents and phytochemicals, just like vegetables, although re­search hasn’t focused its attention on herbs and spices the way it has on vegetables (at least partially due to the fact that these plant foods are consumed in much smaller amounts and so may have a less potent, although quite possibly cumula­tive, effect). Some plant foods such as garlic are often thought to be either an herb or a vegetable, and the distinc­tion is indeed blurry at times. The dictionary even defines vegetables as “a usually herbaceous plant cultivated for its edible parts.” Herbs are, technically, plants with fleshy rather than woody stems, and are also defined as “aromatic plants used in medicine or as seasoning.” Similarly, spices are “aromatic  or pungent plant substances used as flavoring.”

Yes. Just as a raisin is as nutritious as a grape, the sun-dried tomato is full of lycopene and contains all the nutrients of a vine-ripe tomato. The only element missing is the water. The sun-dried tomato also contains the same number of calories as a fresh tomato. However, because it is smaller, it is easier to eat more sun-dried tomatoes than fresh tomatoes. Of course, the calories in vegetables are minimal and these are calories with nutritional power, so there’s no need to limit yourself. Sun-dried tomatoes make a flavorful addition to many dishes and are even a tasty addition to homemade bread.

Are frozen vegetables as nutritious as fresh vegetables?

Not always, but sometimes the frozen version of your fa­vorite veggie is actually more nutritious than the fresh ver­sion. Many vegetables are flash-frozen and bagged right in the field after picking, preserving many nutrients that might otherwise be destroyed by rough handling and extreme tem­peratures, not to mention too-long exposure to the air during the long transport to your local supermarket and finally to your refrigerator. Some nutrients are easily oxidized and de­pleted during this trek.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t seek out fresh produce! Seek out local produce stands or, better yet, grow your own vegetables. The trip from garden to dinner plate is much shorter, and you’ll be getting the best flavor and most nutri­tional value possible. When good fresh produce isn’t avail­able, however, you can rest assured that frozen and canned vegetables are a pretty close second when it comes to nutri­tional value. Be aware, however, that sodium may be added to frozen and canned vegetables. Briefly rinse these vegeta­bles with water before preparing to wash away the excess, should you be salt-sensitive or if your recipe doesn’t call for extra salt.

How much folacin is in different kinds of foods?

Many kinds of beans, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and seeds contain folacin. All of these foods are rec­ommended to be consumed on a daily basis in the Mediter­ranean Diet Pyramid, making it easy to get adequate amounts of folacin. The recommended daily allowance for the average adult is 180 to 200 micrograms. Women in childbearing years, and those who are pregnant, are recom­mended to get 400 micrograms of folacin per day. Some re­searchers feel that folacin intakes should be from 400 to 800 micrograms per day to help prevent cancer. Below is a chart of some foods and their folacin content:

Food                                                         Folacin (micrograms)

Artichoke,

boiled (1 medium)                                             155

Asparagus,

boiled (1/2 cup, or 6 spears)                             130

Avocado,

raw (1 medium)                                                  160

Blackberries

(frozen, unsweetened, 1 cup)                             50

Boysenberries

(frozen, unsweetened, 1 cup)                             85

Broccoli,

raw (1/2 cup chopped)                                          30

Chickpeas (garbanzo beans),

boiled (1 cup)                                                     280

Orange juice

(8 ounces)                                                           110

Red kidney beans,

boiled (1 cup)                                                     230

Note: These figures are rounded numbers. Source: Jean Penning­ton, Bowes & Churches, Food Values of Portions Commonly Used (17 ed), Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1998.