Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Moringa Harvest

Our Moringa trees have been growing like crazy and we've been harvesting the leaves for their nutritional values.  Every day we add dried moringa to our morning smoothies.  It's not what I would call delicious but more of an earthy taste that's good for you.  Moringa is one of those miracle plants that are very nutritious and widely used in other parts of the world.  I believe the entire plant is edible and very resistant to drought and insects.
Moringa being washed

Drying the Moringa leaves

From Wikipedia: It is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree, native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India, and widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas where its young seed pods and leaves are used as vegetables. It can also be used for water purification and hand washing, and is sometimes used in herbal medicine.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 64 kcal (270 kJ)

8.28 g
Dietary fiber 2.0 g

1.40 g

9.40 g

Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
(47%)
378 μg
Thiamine (B1)
(22%)
0.257 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(55%)
0.660 mg
Niacin (B3)
(15%)
2.220 mg
(3%)
0.125 mg
Vitamin B6
(92%)
1.200 mg
Folate (B9)
(10%)
40 μg
Vitamin C
(62%)
51.7 mg

Minerals
Calcium
(19%)
185 mg
Iron
(31%)
4.00 mg
Magnesium
(41%)
147 mg
Manganese
(17%)
0.36 mg
Phosphorus
(16%)
112 mg
Potassium
(7%)
337 mg
Sodium
(1%)
9 mg
Zinc
(6%)
0.6 mg


The leaves are the most nutritious part of the plant, being a significant source of B vitamins, vitamin C, provitamin A as beta-carotene, vitamin K, manganese, and protein, among other essential nutrients. When compared with common foods particularly high in certain nutrients per 100 g fresh weight, cooked moringa leaves are considerable sources of these same nutrients. Some of the calcium in moringa leaves is bound as crystals of calcium oxalate though at levels 1/25th to 1/45th of that found in spinach, which is a negligible amount.
The leaves are cooked and used like spinach and are commonly dried and crushed into a powder used in soups and sauces.

Drumsticks


drumstick

The immature seed pods, called "drumsticks", are commonly consumed in South Asia. They are prepared by parboiling, and cooked in a curry until soft. The seed pods/fruits, even when cooked by boiling, remain particularly high in vitamin C (which may be degraded variably by cooking) and are also a good source of dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the Information...I'll book mark your Blog...

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