This is a great, nutritious salad for lunch, made from a mix of roasted root vegetables (except for starchy potatoes) with a generous amount of greens. Freshly frozen peas work best, but if unavailable, unsweetened canned peas will do.
Stop Blaming Starches
Not all starches are created equal. When adopting a healthy lifestyle, many people eliminate entire food groups, with meat, sugar, and starches being the top targets. On the other hand, some unconsciously build their diet around unnecessary or less beneficial foods, overloading on fructose, refined grains, and simple starches.
Let’s set things straight:
- Sugar is not inherently worse than its substitutes, including syrups and sucralose.
- Meat is not "pure protein," and when consumed in poor quality (from industrial farming), it increases inflammation in the body, especially when eaten at dinner.
- Starches have their own nuances. Some starches are actually good, and avoiding them can harm gut health. By now, everyone knows the importance of taking care of their microbiome.
This is where resistant starches come in. These non-digestible starches vary in structure and properties across different plants and are an essential prebiotic, creating a healthy gut environment. They slowly break down, reach the large intestine, and serve as a food source for beneficial bacteria. They don’t impact calorie count or insulin levels.
Foods Rich in Resistant Starches:
- Starch from seeds and nuts (cashews)
- Starch from legumes (peas, lentils, beans, occasionally chickpeas)
- Starch from whole grains and cereals (whole-grain oats, pearl barley, unpolished brown rice, spelt, buckwheat)
- Green bananas and plantains (the greener, the better + flour from green bananas)
- Starch from cooked and cooled root vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots)
- Corn starch
For those with diabetes, high blood sugar, or gut issues, there’s no need to exclude these. On the contrary, they should be included! But the ideal way to consume them is to cook and cool them for at least 8 hours. Resistant starch improves insulin sensitivity, lowers cholesterol, and promotes early satiety. This applies to everything — even pre-prepared roasted vinaigrette. If you crave potatoes, roast them and cool them for the next day. The same goes for rice and wheat — cook them, then cool them before eating.
- 3 beets
- 1-2 celery or parsley roots (1 very large or 2 smaller ones)
- 2-3 carrots
- optional parsnip or Jerusalem artichoke
- 200–250 g fresh or canned peas (unsweetened)
- a bunch of dill
- a few sprigs of green onion
- 3 tbsp. capers
- 3-4 pickled or fermented cucumbers
- sauerkraut or kimchi (optional)
- silken tofu or avocado, yes, they complement the classics perfectly (optional)
- mustard dressing
Wash all vegetables. If they have thin, clean skins, they can be eaten with the peel (!), but this is optional. Wrap all the vegetables tightly in foil, place them on a baking tray, and roast at 200°C for 2–2.5 hours. This can be done in advance — roasted vegetables become even healthier the next day.
Dice all the ingredients you choose to add. Mix everything thoroughly and season well. Capers, cucumbers, and greens (including sprouts!) need time to absorb flavors — vinaigrette is always tastier the next day.
Wash all vegetables. If they have thin, clean skins, they can be eaten with the peel (!), but this is optional. Wrap all the vegetables tightly in foil, place them on a baking tray, and roast at 200°C for 2–2.5 hours. This can be done in advance — roasted vegetables become even healthier the next day.
Dice all the ingredients you choose to add. Mix everything thoroughly and season well. Capers, cucumbers, and greens (including sprouts!) need time to absorb flavors — vinaigrette is always tastier the next day.
