My Favorite Vegetables 🥦

In our daily meals, we prepare many vegetables. But when there is our favorite, we like to eat more than usual. For me, I like mainly any vegetable which is grown in an organic environment. The usual carrot, beans or potato is my least favorites because they are grown in commercial type farms and have a lot of chemicals.

To avoid such vegetables whenever I have a chance I always try to grow something in our garden or even on my upstairs balcony using small pots. In our gardens, we don't have to rely on chemicals but can use natural methods and natural fertilizers to grow some vegetables. For our daily consumption these vegetables are a much better choice. So, today I will show you some of my harvest from the garden.

(01) Thai Eggplant (තලන බටු : Thalana batu )

This might not look like the Eggplant you know. But here in Sri Lanka, you can see this vegetable in every vegetable shop. It can cook as a curry or stir-frys style. However, the process of cooking has an extra step to crush this fruit and removing the seeds inside. Because of that some ladies are a bit lazy to cook this vegetable. However, I love the mouth watering taste of it with fish curry. So, I don't care about the extra work.

• Nutrition value: According to some articles in Ayurvedha, Eggplant has the highest percentage of calcium. Also, It contains protein, starch, phosphorus and iron.

(02) Pea Eggplant (තිබ්බටු : Thibbatu )

This is a variant of Eggplant but very rare to find. Has another variety which is bitter in taste but the health benefits are on different level. I like the non-bitter variety. The common method of cooking is stir-fry. This one also needs some crushing before cooking, but a little bit easier since we do not have to clean the seed inside. When there is a tree we can harvest regularly, but it is hard to find this vegetable in the shop and it is quite expensive in the city area.

• Nutrition value: Pea Eggplant contains vitamins A, B1, B2 and B3. Also possess dietary fiber, potassium, calcium and iron.

(03) Bitter Gourd (කරවිල: Karawila)

Now in the picture, you can see how small it is. This is also very rare to find and I haven't seen this vegetable in any shops. It is very easy to grow but since this type of vegetable has less value in the market nobody brings such to the market. People might think this is grown properly. But the truth is it is the way of this variety in the organic environment. This can cook as a salad or fry. I like to fry Bitter Gourd because then the bitter taste becomes more pleasant to mix with other curries.

• Nutrition value: To control blood sugar this vegetable can be used as a juice. Also has Cancer-Fighting Properties, and can decrease cholesterol levels.

(04) Wing Beans (දඹල: Dabala)

This is an ideal plant to grow easily. Not only the Wing Beans but we can eat the flowers, leaves, pods & seeds as well. More importantly, all these parts have a very high nutritional value. That is why this is my favorite as well. The cooking method also pretty simple. We can stir-fry this or just make it as a salad.

• Nutrition value: Wing Beans are a nutritious food rich in B group vitamins, including C, protein, iron, potassium and folic acid. It is a known vegetable for the growth of bones and proper maintenance of bones. The fiber in wing beans helps in digestion and eliminates constipation.

So these are my favorites, I hope you liked my vegetable collection. This is my harvest for the lunch ❤️ .

I invite all readers to grow some vegetables in the garden. It is very interesting to see the plants growing and pleasure while harvesting is something you can't describe.

I invite @inudi, @nishadi89 @vishwara to participate in this contest.

Good Bye, Stay Safe!