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A Fresh Approach to Eating

Make some Red Radish Salsa and Other Great Ways to Eat Radishes

Fall is a great time to plant and eat some red radishes because they are quick growing vegetables for your garden. Radishes were once only used around my house to make radish roses or add to salads. I honestly, I did not love them but felt obligated to eat them since someone who I loved grew them. I now realize it was not the radishes but how I prepared that made them boring and a chore to eat.

Radishes are low in calories and high in fiber so they one healthy way to lose weight. They are in the cruciferous family so they have anti-cancer properties too! Radishes take only 3 weeks from garden to table so you can have several crops of radishes each year and they are a local produce that can be available throughout the year.

There are several varieties of radishes that include different, colors, shapes and sizes. Some of the more memorable varieties include black Spanish, daikon, watermelon, horseradish and the familiar bright pink ones in many different varieties.

Here are a few  varieties of radishes  from Sow True Seeds. This company specializes in heirloom varieties and grows their seed organically. If you don’t grow them look for them at a local farmers market or a local farm.

Almost any time of the year can be a good radish season for growing with the exception of winter and the heat of the summer.

radish saute

Ways to Prepare Red Radishes and Other Varieties

Are you looking for some new ways to prepare radishes? You can roast or grill radishes, toss sliced ones in soups, salads and sandwiches and they can even be pickled! My husband pickled some radishes along with carrots to add to a sandwich. It was a new way of eating them for us and very tasty!

Another way that you can prepare radishes that I found that is sauteed radishes bulbs over radish greens! Did you know that you could sauté radish greens and bulbs? The hot, spicy radish flavor of the bulbs that I do not always love so much turns sweet when they are sauteed. They also have a wonderful texture. I never realized before that I could be eating radish greens.

The radish greens remind me of Swiss chard so the pungent greens with the sweet bulbs make both a colorful and diverse combination. If you are looking for what to cook for dinner, this would make a different and simple vegetable recipe for a quick healthy meal.

Fall, winter and spring means fresh radish salsa!
Fall, winter and spring means fresh radish salsa!

Another creative way to use radishes is to try my fresh salsa recipe! With tomatoes on their way out for most of us as a seasonal food, this radish can be a favorite topping for fish tacos, burritos and even chili!

Red Radish and Other Varieties Recipes

Radish Cilantro Salsa

3 scallions sliced

2 tablespoon lime juice

1 cup cilantro, stemmed and chopped

6 radishes chopped

1 tablespoon chopped hot chili, based on your preference

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together.

Makes 1 1/2 cups salsa.

Final Words on Red Radishes

I hope that you learned some new ideas when it comes to radishes such as that they can be cooked and that they become sweeter when cooked. And that you can make a tasty salsa. And you can also substitute other radishes in place of red radishes.

Give these fresh, new ideas for easy healthy dinner recipes to prepare radishes a try! I think that you will enjoy these plant-based recipes!

What Does a Registered Dietitian Do?

I am a registered dietitian nutritionist in Asheville, NC and here is a glimpse how help my clients live healthier lives!

If you know someone who can benefit from a dietitian’s services which include nutrition counseling please share with them all the ways that we can help! You can find a list of registered dietitians at Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Find a Nutrition Expert.

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