As I prepare for another deliciously delightful 5-Days Vegan that I hope you’ll join me for on February 21st, I have also been venturing into the land of new vegetables. I suppose that’s what travelling does to someone who is a nutrition nerdress like me (though I say that without judgment). Monday we talked eggplant, today, I am kicking it slimy style with okra.
This is okara:
Okra is a green vegetable that is mildly fuzzy on the outside and majorly slimy on the inside. As revolting as that unjust description may sound, don’t judge a vegetable by its furry/slimyness and instead trust that 1) it IS delicious and 2) that slimyness is a little health bonus.
Am I ever excited to share these little tidbits with you:
- The superior-powered stylings of fiber found in okra helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing the rate at which it is absorbed.
- Okra’s mucilage (the slimy part) binds with cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins that get dumped by our hard working liver and gets that shyte out.
- Okra helps lube up the large intestines thanks to its bulking laxative qualities. The okra fiber absorbs water and ensures bulk in stools. Unlike extracted fibres like wheat bran, which be a bit rough and tumble on the delicate tissue of the digestive tract, okra’s mucilage soothes this tissue and facilitates a more um… slippery elimination
- Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria, contributing to the health of the intestinal tract.
- Okra is a supreme vegetable for those feeling weak, exhausted, and suffering from depression.
- Okra is used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber.
- It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.
- Okra treats lung inflammation, sore throat, and irritable bowel syndrome.
- Okra’s is high in vitamin C, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which reduces asthmatic symptoms.
- Okra protects you from pimples and maintains smooth and beautiful skin, likely because it helps get rid of our body’s toxic waste
I am perfectly content to give these babies the old rinse and steam but you don’t need a recipe for that. So instead I cooked them up with some tomatoes, my newly beloved wonky boob eggplant, celery onion, a little olive oil and salt and voila it was ready and totes amazing.
Slippery Stewed Okra and Other Great Veggies
3 cups (about 12) okras, tips removed and sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
2 cups eggplant, cubed
4-5 medium size tomatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
sea salt and cayenne to taste
- Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add a little water if they seem to be sticking
- Add all remaining vegetables and cook on medium heat covered
- The tomatoes will provide the liquid as they cook, though you may want to stir it around once in a while to keep it from sticking
- Simmer on low for 15-20 mins until the vegetables are cooked other and celery is tender
- Add sea salt and cayenne
- Easy peasy and you are at the ‘voila’ stage!
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I used to eat okra all the time when I lived in the city, but I can’t get it where I live now:( But I’ll keep my eye out for it. It definitely tastes better than it looks.
I consider myself pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, but, girl, you actually make me WANT to try things just for the sake of their benefits!
Whatever it takes!
Now that I have proven that I know how to turn the stove on, may I ask whether this dish is a main? A side? What do we serve it with?
Love, a girl still needing help.
Yep- can be a dish unto itself though might be lacking on the protein side. Could always add beans to the mix or enjoy it with fish or your meat of choice. And look out for Monday C.- all about dins.
I have never tried okra, I didn’t know what to do with it. Thanks!
wow when i saw this article i thought maybe you were visiting my home state, in the land of meat and potatoes. but fried okra is a local favorite and grows profusely ’round here. it’s sliminess is a lil offputting, but i never knew it was so very good for you! also slimy is cactus, or ‘nopales’ as mi abuela calls them. what can u tell us about cactus?
Hmmmm. Funny you should ask. Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you.
Are you going to talk about swiss chard? My garden is currently overflowing with chard, but just a few years ago I didn’t know what chard was. And from what I’ve read it’s super good for you.
My husband loves okra. I’ll have to try this recipe
My mother went through an okra phase when I was growing up – in my early teens, maybe. I don’t remember whether or not I liked it, just a day when I was in hysterical laughter about my repulsion to its fuzzy, slimy nature. It totally creeped me out that day. Maybe it’s because I saw it raw. Oh, childhood kitchen memories.
Maybe I should give okra another chance and cook with it myself. I’ve probably had it in jambalaya.
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[...] cycle, they are very rich in fibre, plus they have that boogery mucilage component to them. As with okra and aloe, that slime factor is incredibly nourishing to the cells that line our intestinal tract. [...]
[...] what’s your favourite snotty food? An awful question to be sure but you know I go crazy for Okra and a chunk of aloe in my morning smoothie makes everything run, well, smoothly. It’s the slime [...]
[...] what’s your favourite slimy food? An awful question to be sure but you know I go crazy for Okra and a chunk of aloe in my morning smoothie makes everything run, well, smoothly. It’s the slime [...]