Garlic

Because I am faux-Italian, I adore garlic. I love the smell of it raw, roasting, or simmering away on the stove, and it’s aroma always transports me back to Italy. Garlic is fantastic in all pastas, salad dressings, rice/grain dishes, marinades, and mixed raw with warm lemon water as a super cold-fighting tonic. Not only is it a super flavor booster, but it packs a nutritional punch as well – therefore garlic should always be in your kitchen!

  • Fun fact: garlic is one of the oldest cultivated foods in the world. Ancient Sanskrit writings note the use of garlic remedies over 5,000 years ago, while the Chinese have been using garlic for around 3,000. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, noted garlic as a potent medicinal plant used to treat coughs, dandruff, diarrhea, earache, hypertension, and much more.
  • Once garlic is crushed or cut, let him rest and unwind before cooking. Letting the garlic sit before changing the pH (addition of lemon juice, etc.) or adding heat (cooking immediately) let’s the enzymes work more beneficially to our health. A 10 minute rest is best for our hardworking garlic.
  • Garlic contains many sulfur compounds (hence that fine smell), which helps to produce and release hydrogen sulfide gas in our blood cells, helping to dilate our blood vessels and keep blood pressure under control.
  • These sulfur compounds also help to rid the body of oxidative stress – unwanted inflammation in the body that leads to disease.
  • Garlic is very anti-bacterial and anti-viral, which helps to ward off disease and bacteria within the body. Garlic’s superior antimicrobial powers is due to allicin, a compound that proves to be very effective in fighting colds, flu, stomach viruses, Candida yeast, and even pathogenic microbes like tuberculosis and botulism.
  • Another reason why garlic is an underrated superfoods? Garlic contains a specific prebiotic fructan called inulin. Inulin ferments in your colon and creates food for your functional and friendly gut bacteria. This not only keeps your gut bacteria incredibly happy, but it also promotes digestion, stimulates the immune system, and helps to prevent disease.

Vegukate Tips:

Purchase plump pieces of garlic with unbroken skin. Although you can purchase garlic powder, try to go for fresh garlic for much more nutrient support and health benefits.

Stored garlic at room temperature in a dark place. Whole bulbs of garlic will keep for several months or more.