KOHLRABI

This year is the first year I’ve lived in a home that allowed me to have my own garden. When buying seeds in the spring, I was drawn to growing kohlrabi. Apparently my father grew tons of it in my childhood home.

There are so many reasons to love kohlrabi. 

1. It is a hearty cruciferous vegetable making it suitable for growing in harsh conditions, and is nutrient dense. This means that it is easy to grow, provides many health benefits including its bounty of vitamins and minerals. Some countries even use it as feed for livestock for these reasons.

2. Kohlrabi is flavourful. Some liken the flavour of kohlrabi to broccoli stem, but if harvested at the right time, is less fibrous and has a consistency more similar to an apple. Delicious eaten raw or cooked.

3. It is nutrient dense. It is rich in vitamin A, C, and K, and B vitamins, but it is its mineral profile that makes it exceptional. It is a great source of copper, potassium, manganese, iron, and calcium - which are the most common mineral deficiencies I see in practice, and feel I will continue to see much more of due to the depletion of nutrients in our soil and food as a product of mono crop farming.

It is a great side or addition to meals, as its mineral profile will help to increase the absorption of iron (ideal for vegans and vegetarians!) as well as improves calcium absorption into the bone to improve bone density. A great example of food as medicine.

My favourite preparation of it is as Goi Su Hao Thit Ga, a Vietnamese kohlrabi chicken salad. Refreshing, light, healthy, easy, and flavourful! What more could you want?

Dr. Cristina Allen ND
Naturopathic Doctor