Will you be cool as a cucumber?
Fresh cucumbers are simple to add to salads. For an easy salad just toss diced cucumbers with sliced red onions, red tomatoes and your favourite vinaigrette. This can be a fast way to make a refreshing salad that reaps some great benefits of cucumber.
Not merely is the cucumber known for the capability to cool off the body, it has also been proven to assist with jaundice, diarrhoea, epilepsy, sore throat, conjunctivitis (redness of the eye) and swelling of extremities.
Some people find it best to deseed the cucumber as the body can have difficulty digesting the seeds. It is possible to deseed them yourself easily by cutting them in two and using a spoon to eliminate the seeds or if you wish to eliminate this step it is possible to buy cucumber chunks that are already seeded.
Anti-diabetic Benefits of Cucumber:
Beta cells within the pancreas produce the hormone insulin. Cucumber is found to have a hormone necessary for beta cells in the insulin production. Moreover, the Glycemic Index of cucumbers is found to be zero.
Why don’t Cucumbers have a glycemic index listed? Does this signify they do not raise blood sugar levels?
No! It means that under the “rules” for the concept of the glycemic index, it is too hard to get an accurate number. It is because you’ll need to eat a very big amount of the food to get 50 grams of carbohydrate at once in order to be tested. In general, the lower the quantity of carbohydrate in a vegetable and the more fibre it has, the less the increase in blood sugar levels will be.
The carbohydrates are primarily responsible of the raise of the glucose level. But the carbohydrates within the cucumber are easily digestible.
Just a few Quick Serving Ideas:
- Use half-inch thick cucumber slices as petite serving “dishes” for chopped vegetable salads.
- Mix diced cucumbers with sugar snap peas and mint leaves and toss with rice wine vinaigrette.
- For refreshing cold gazpacho soup that takes five minutes or less to make, simply purée cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers and onions, then add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add diced cucumber to tuna fish or chicken salad recipes.
Cool Cucumber Salad
Serves 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Marinating time: 1 hour
- 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped coriander
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (preferably low salt)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- Pinch dried red pepper flakes
- Combine the cucumbers, carrots, red onion, and coriander in a large bowl.
- Combine the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for one hour before serving.
Nutritional Values per Meal: 1/2 cup portion
- Calories: 25
- Calories From Fat: 10
- Total Fat: 1 gram
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 grams
- Cholesterol: trace
- Sodium: 50 milligrams (without added salt)
- Total Carbohydrate: 5 grams
- Dietary Fibre: 1 gram
- Sugars: 3 grams
- Protein: 1g
About the writer:
Suzanne Ault shares knowledge for the diabetic diet recipes blog, her personal hobby internet site centred on cooking suggestions to stop diabetic issues.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely salad and so many informative tips. Great guest post.
Thank you Paula!
What a lovely cool salad. One to try. x
Looks lovely doesn’t it Brenda. I’ll definitely be eating this soon.
Gorgeous looking salads – love cucumber
Whimsical Wife´s last [type] ..Flapjacks – lazy and chewy ones-
Thanks Wendy
Who would have thought the humble cucumber was so good for you. Lovely informative post.
Surprising isn’t it – so many people don’t think of a cucumber as being nutritious.
So many good ideas to use the cucumber. Lovely.
Thanks Rebecca. I hope you’ll enjoy making and eating some of them.
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