A healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and a variety of greens on the table - a fashion trend in the last five to ten years. An incredible variety has appeared on the shelves: ice salad, oak salad, corn salad, arugula, garden pepper and others. You can’t find a strong taste in green salads , they cannot satisfy your hunger, they are simply used to decorate plates or add volume to complex salads. Meanwhile, lettuce leaves are a low-calorie product, easy to use and prepare, saturated with vitamins and trace elements.
In the world today there are more than 1000 types of salads, and every day their number is increasing. One of the most popular is corn salad. Like many members of the Valerian family, field salad (this is another name for the plant, like Rapunzel) is an incredibly useful agricultural plant.
Short description
Outwardly, an unsightly plant, rounded in shape with dark green leaves. Mostly grows in Africa, Asia and some European countries. The plant is annual. The maximum height is forty centimeters.
Culinary experts and scientists put the salad one step higher than its garden green relatives. It is believed that it is an order of magnitude healthier and tastier than other salads. French chefs fell in love with the salad for its incredible nutty aroma, softness of pulp and an exquisite gamut of taste.
Growing
Corn salad can be sown at different times due to the short growing season. Seeds are lowered directly into the garden. The best yields are obtained if you plant a plant in early spring. Field salad is reluctant to endure hot summers, and in winter it is better to hide it from the cold, covering it with a layer of humus or straw.
Structure
Biologically active substances in the salad contain a huge amount. The main ones in the list are the whole group B, vitamins E, A, C, etc. Of the trace elements that are found in large quantities in the corn salad, we can name: zinc, magnesium, manganese, selenium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium.
Ascorbic acid, which has more than 42 percent of the daily allowance in lettuce, is the palm. Vitamin A is considered second. The next most popular and most abundant in its composition is B6.
Calorie content
With its minimum calorie content, lettuce leaves are a healthy food for those who are losing weight or just sticking to a healthy lifestyle. One hundred grams of rapunzel salad contains only 23 kcal.
How to choose?
The right choice of salad is the key to not only healthy, but also delicious dinner. It is important to remember that it is better to buy corn salad during the period of bright growth, but already after the flowering of the plant. Summer salads are the most delicious and healthy. The leaves will be fresh, juicy and with a pronounced nutty flavor, which this type of salads is so famous for. The best time to buy is the end of May, June.
When buying, you should carefully consider the leaves. They must be flat, intact, with no signs of wilting or damage. There should be no yellow or brown spots on the leaves. Only a bright green saturated color is welcome.
Corn salad Beneficial features
Even in ancient Rome, healers noticed the incredible healing properties of garden valerianella. Marked tonic, wound healing, diuretic and soothing qualities of the plant.
- Leaves of corn salad are considered especially useful for the male body. It is proved that the microelements and vitamins that make up the plant have a beneficial effect on the reproductive system. Plant components help accelerate male sperm and increase the chances of conception. In addition, the vitamins in rapunzel salad are beneficial for pregnant women and the fetus.
- Korn is recognized as a fairly potent aphrodisiac. Moreover, not only male potency is enhanced, but also female libido. Doctors say the field salad is ideal for romantic dinners.
- When there is no strength and do not feel like doing anything This condition is probably familiar to many. Doctors say this is the first sign of weakening immunity. If such a moment has arrived, we immediately go to the store, buy a corn salad. The photo or appearance of a living plant with cheerful green “curls” will already cheer you up. And if you also use leaflets for food, then an increase in the general tone of the body, improvement of well-being, reduction of drowsiness and fatigue is provided.
- We are ill not only from reduced immunity, but also from a violation of the metabolic processes in the body. Daily consumption of lettuce leaves will allow normalizing the functioning of organs, removing toxins and making room for useful and necessary trace elements and vitamins.
- It is proved that the use of rapunzel salad in food allows you to increase brain function, normalize and improve memory. Strengthen the nervous system by relieving stress, irritability, fatigue, feelings of anxiety.
- The substances contained in the root salad, can reduce headaches, improve heart function, get rid of migraines.
- It also helps the salad to fight one of the fiercest enemies of modern mankind - cholesterol. Its elimination from the body is an improvement in overall well-being, a decrease in the risk of stroke, a decrease and normalization of blood pressure, and weight loss.
- Since the plant contains a lot of healthy oils, it can also be attributed to “beauty assistants”. The condition of the scalp is normalized, dandruff is reduced, the condition of nails and skin is improved, the number of acne and freckles is reduced.
Contraindications
Like most foods, corn salad has a number of contraindications to use:
- Food allergy.
- Increased gas formation.
- Peptic ulcer or gastritis.
Doctors also advise abandoning too often the use of field salad for those women who are protected by oral contraceptives. Since the plant contains substances that activate the reproductive system, the effectiveness of such drugs can be reduced.
But pregnant women, small children, nursing mothers can safely eat corn salad. If a large number of products during this period of life are not available to them, then this plant is a pleasant and useful exception.
Storage
It is advisable to eat salad as soon as it has been cut. If the plant was bought in a store, then it is also desirable to eat it as quickly as possible. The salad is kept a little, about two days in the refrigerator. It is recommended that you first wrap the leaves in a paper towel or newspaper.
Eating and cooking
They only eat fresh salad. All taste, aroma and healthy qualities will dissolve after heat treatment. It should be washed quickly so that the leaves do not swell, saturated with moisture. Corn salad recipes can be single and joint in a delicious combination with other products. Many ladies prefer to eat fragile fragrant leaves, just lightly seasoning them with olive oil.
What foods are combined with lettuce leaves?
- Parsley, cilantro, basil.
- Boiled meat, bacon.
- Fish, seafood.
- Lemon juice or olive oil.
- Most citrus fruits.
- Sesame and other nuts.
It is recommended not to cut the salad with a knife, but to tear off the leaves with your hands. You need to season salad with garden valerian immediately before serving and eating. A prolonged downtime in a liquid threatens with missing raw, quickly withered and tasteless leaves.
One medium bunch of lettuce contains about 140 grams. In one branch - 5-8 grams.
Recipes
- In a hot pan, bacon is fried, cut into small cubes. Corn salad is mixed with spinach in equal proportions. Bacon is laid out on the leaves, a spoonful of almond flakes spills out from above. A pair of orange slices for freshness. Sauce from mustard, olive oil, a pinch of white pepper and salt.
- Small segments of mango are mixed with lettuce. Small boiled salad shrimps are added to them. A few thin slices of cucumber and a sauce of wine vinegar, grain mustard and olive oil.
- In a small stewpan, onions and leeks are passaged. A couple of chopped garlic cloves are added. After a couple of minutes - a liter of water. When the liquid boils, two potatoes are added, finely chopped into even cubes. After 15 minutes rapunzel salad and spices (pepper, bay leaf, leaf, salt) are added. The soup turns off. Fat cream is added. The blender turns on, crushing all the components of the cream soup.
- Parchment paper is spread on the bottom of the baking dish. Topped circles of potatoes, grated with salt, thyme, pepper and rosemary. After 20 minutes, at a temperature of 200 degrees, the potatoes will start to golden - it’s time to add some cherry tomatoes to it (you can cut them into two halves). Bake another 7 minutes. We take out the form, sprinkle the potatoes with finely grated Parmesan and send it back to the oven. Five minutes later, we take it out, put the potatoes on a “pillow” from salted and oil-flavored corn salad.
- And if you mix in a blender a salad with one banana, a slice of pineapple, an orange slice, a couple of small fresh cucumbers, a spoon of honey and a glass of almond milk, you get a great, healthy and vitamin-rich nutritious smoothie.