Don't Skip the Veggies During Winter

Your street may be lined with snow, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on the power of seasonal produce during the winter months. Long ago, plenty of cultures in cold climes -- from Minnesota to Norway -- learned to harness the power of vegetables for good nutrition all year long. People passed down their knowledge that some vegetables, which ripened during the last few warm days of the season, could last for months during the cold months. My grandmother tucked them away liked treasures in her root cellar to provide sustenance and important nutrients to fight disease all year long. Root vegetables, such as beets and carrots, store well in cellars, as do tubers, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with cabbage, onions, garlic and winter squash. It's a good idea to take a valuable lesson from the food history books and make the most of seasonal winter produce today.

It's not news that eating a diet rich in vegetables can promote good health; this healthy habit has been linked to a laundry list of benefits, including lower risk of certain cancers, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, age-related eye diseases, bone loss and metabolic syndrome (a clustering of risk factors related to chronic illness). Yet everywhere you turn you're getting encouragement to lower your carbon footprint by eating with the seasons and choosing local produce. By focusing on winter produce this time of the year, you can do your best to fuel your nutrient needs to stave off disease and tread more gently on Mother Earth. Here are four winter-time produce picks worth celebrating this month.

Root for Root Vegetables: Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Rutabagas and Turnips

These sturdy vegetables, which thrive below the soil line, are actually taproots for the plant, storing energy for the plant to survive. That's why they offer us such a rich display of flavor and nutrients. All root vegetables are packed in fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, which paint their flesh with vibrant colors, from pale yellow to brilliant purple, and provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity to fend off disease. You're probably most familiar with the bright orange carrot, which provides an ample supply of vitamin A, but carrots are also available in a range of colors and flavors. And beets, which also come in a gorgeous golden shade, have moved beyond boring to fabulous, thanks to gifted chefs who've brought forward a renaissance for beets in salads, roasts and purees. But don't neglect the less-popular root vegetables parsnips, rutabagas and turnips, which are delicious simply roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, mashed as you would potatoes, or pureed into a comforting soup.

Tuber Good Potatoes

Potatoes have gotten a bad rap in recent years, thanks to low-carb diets and other diet fads. However, this important tuber vegetable, which is traced back to ancient Peru, is a healthy whole plant food worth celebrating. Tuber plants store their nutrients in tubers beneath the soil, thus potatoes are rich in potassium, vitamin C and fiber -- a medium potato provides only 110 calories. Plus, they come in all sorts of shades and varieties: white, yellow, purple, red and sweet potatoes, which come in tones of orange and purple. Generally, the more colorful the potato, the more rich it is in phytochemical compounds; orange sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene (provitamin A), and purple potatoes are potent with anthocyanins. Potatoes are harvested in the summer and last for months in storage. Rub potatoes with olive oil and bake until tender, or mash or roast them. Dice potatoes into soups, stews and side dishes. Or slice cooked potatoes into a satisfying salad.

A Bounty of Winter Squash

One of the oldest crops in the Western world, winter squash is part of the Native American "three sisters" tradition, along with maize and beans. The beans were planted with maize, which served as a climbing pole for the bean plant, and the squash thrived under the shade at the base of the plants. Such began a beautiful relationship for this nutritious, delicious plant food among ancient cultures in the Americas. Because winter squashes, such as acorn, banana, turban, butternut, spaghetti and Kabocha, are part of the gourd family, they possess hard, thick shells that allow them to last for up to six months after harvest. Rich in fiber, potassium, vitamins C and A, winter squash are also high in carotenoid antioxidants that lend their flesh yellow-orange colors. The best way to enjoy winter squash is to simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, sprinkle it with seasoning (i.e., cinnamon, allspice, cloves) and a drizzle of olive oil and roast it. But winter squash is also excellent in soups, stews, salads and side-dishes.

Not-So-Humble Onions

Onions have been a staple in diets around the world for thousands of years. Can you imagine Asian or French food without the appeal of onions? This simple bulb vegetable in the Allium family (along with garlic and leeks) can store for months during the cold weather, becoming an essential to winter kitchens across the globe. Onion's fragrant, pungent bite is a calling card for its sulfur-containing compounds, which provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action linked with health protection. Plus, onions are rich in B vitamins, vitamin C, fiber and minerals. Whether you purchase red, yellow or white onions, they add much needed flavor and nutrition to your meals. Don't underestimate the value of chopping a whole onion (an entire serving of vegetables!) into sautés, sauces, side-dishes, soups and casseroles. And onions can even be the main event of your dinner table in French onion soup or whole roasted onions, where the process of caramelization turns those pungent flavors into sweet, earthy tones.

Sharon Palmer, RDN, The Plant-Powered Dietitian™, is an award-winning food and nutrition expert, journalist and editor. She is author of "The Plant-Powered Diet: The Lifelong Eating Plan for Achieving Health, Beginning Today" (The Experiment, 2012) and "Plant-Powered for Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health with 52 Simple Steps & 125 Delicious Recipes" (The Experiment, 2014). More than 850 of her articles have been published in national publications, including Prevention, Better Homes and Gardens and Yoga Journal. Sharon also is editor of Environmental Nutrition, nutrition editor of Today's Dietitian, blogger for The Plant-Powered Blog, and publisher of her monthly The Plant-Powered Newsletter. Her specific expertise is in plant-based nutrition, including flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diets. She serves as the consultant dietitian for the Oldways Vegetarian Network, an editor for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic's website eatright.org, and judge for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards.