Steamed or Raw Vegetables – Which is Better?

Which Is Better: Steamed or Raw?

Nothing could be healthier for your heart than a plateful of raw veggies, right?

Actually, a little steam treatment could be even better. New research suggests that steaming might improve the cholesterol-lowering capabilities of certain produce.

When researchers tested the digestive effects of both raw and steamed veggies – beets, okra, carrots, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, and cauliflower – something interesting happened. It’s not clear why, but the steamed veggies did a better job of binding to bile acids. And that’s a good thing. It means more bile acids get excreted, which in turn means the liver needs more bad LDL cholesterol to make bile – which means there’s less LDL circulating in your body.

Raw or steamed, your goal is to eat at least five servings of vegetables every day. But if you don’t always hit that goal, here are some ways to make sure that every bite of vegetables is working hard for you:

Find out when frozen veggies are more healthful than fresh — and vice versa.

• Know when it’s worth it to go organic.
• Absorb more nutrients from salads and steamed veggies with the healthy fats in these toppings.
• Sprinkle on extra antioxidants with these herbs and spices.

3 Ways to Dress Your Veggies

A bit of unsaturated fat can help your body better absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in your vegetables. Here are three different looks to try:

• Skip the fat-free ranch dressing. Instead, toss your greens with an olive-oil-based dressing like balsamic vinaigrette.
• Make your fat crunchy. Season peppers, corn, carrots, or squash with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and then top with slivered almonds or toasted sesame seeds.
• Create this Spicy Peanut Sauce for dipping lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower

In a recent study, people who tossed their salads with a dressing that had some fat in it absorbed more carotenoids from the vegetables than the people who used a nonfat dressing.

Carotenoids are potent antioxidants found in brightly hued produce - red, orange, and yellow. But the small intestine needs a little fat to absorb these power nutrients. So do several other fat-soluble vitamins, including:

Vitamin E (found in spinach and broccoli)
Vitamin K (found in cabbage, cauliflower, and turnip greens)
Vitamin D (found in some fish and in fortified dairy)

When you’re dressing your veggies, remember the Brylcreem jingle: “A little dab’ll do ya.” You can nearly undo all the good in veggies by turning them into high-calorie, high-fat side dishes. So don’t drown them in sauces and oils. Think lightweight summer ensembles – a little dribble of olive oil on a sliced tomato or a smattering of chopped walnuts on your spinach salad. Or a bit of  peanut sauce on your steamed broccoli. Check out this spicy peanut sauce recipe below.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons “lite” coconut milk
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Watkins Red Pepper Flakes, or to taste

Whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl until smooth.

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