I know a lot of people who doesn't like Okra for different reasons:
1. Because it's gooey and slimy
2. It's unexplainable skin texture.
3. There's too much pea pod like seeds in it.
I've known my husband to be very picky when it comes to veggies. But along our journey as a married couple, I was able to inject a lot of food factors to a healthier living. Just recently, I've finally convinced my husband to like Okra. When I say like, it's not just eating a piece or for the sake of pleasing me or granting my request. Like, is when he requests a plate full of blanched, fresh Okra. It is now part of our daily meal always served during lunch and dinner.
When I was little and my dad didn't have a job, our daily food went around vegetables farmed from a vacant lot beside our house. We had corn, pechay, peanuts, mustaza, sweet potatoes, green leafy veggies such as talbos ng camote, alugbati, saluyot and okra. We didn't have money but I felt so rich just having these in our yard, it's like having a small farm. I can eat any vegetable but I consider Okra as one of my favorites. I steam or blanch it, then as dip, I prepare simple soy sauce and vinegar mixture or shrimp paste with calamansi juice paired with some hot rice.
Here are some health facts on Okra. Hopefully this will change the mind of those who greatly despise this vegetable.
1. It is high in antioxidants.
2. Rich in Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium
3. It is very high on fiber.
4. It lowers the risk of diabetes and a factor for blood- sugar control.
5. Lowers the risk of cancer.
For more: Health Benefits of Okra
* The simpler how Okra is cooked and served, the better. It doesn't require too much to enjoy it.
Our family knows somebody who recently passed away at the age of 103. She was physically capable and very strong for her age. We were amazed by her story and of the fact that she reached 103 years old. Our aunt told us that her mom may have reached 103 because she always demanded for a plate of Okra as part of her "daily meal". One day, she slept and didn't wake up anymore... her age caught up with her.
What I'm sharing here is just a thought which we can all learn from. The lifestyle nowadays shortens our life span. It's given that we will all die but personally, even if I'm old, I still want to move about do what I can to enjoy this world. So those vegetables that some of us hate like ampalaya and okra, these are contributing factors to long life, clean living and a healthy future.
1. It is high in antioxidants.
2. Rich in Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium
3. It is very high on fiber.
4. It lowers the risk of diabetes and a factor for blood- sugar control.
5. Lowers the risk of cancer.
For more: Health Benefits of Okra
* The simpler how Okra is cooked and served, the better. It doesn't require too much to enjoy it.
Our family knows somebody who recently passed away at the age of 103. She was physically capable and very strong for her age. We were amazed by her story and of the fact that she reached 103 years old. Our aunt told us that her mom may have reached 103 because she always demanded for a plate of Okra as part of her "daily meal". One day, she slept and didn't wake up anymore... her age caught up with her.
What I'm sharing here is just a thought which we can all learn from. The lifestyle nowadays shortens our life span. It's given that we will all die but personally, even if I'm old, I still want to move about do what I can to enjoy this world. So those vegetables that some of us hate like ampalaya and okra, these are contributing factors to long life, clean living and a healthy future.
