In the Kitchen with Jicama

A woman once told me about Jicama.  HUH??  She swore it was a fantastic vegetable food and great with dips.  She said she ate it multiple times per week.  I had never heard of such a vegetable.. pronounced "hicama"...  I promptly forgot her recommendation because I did not know how to spell it or find it. 

Then this last week I ran across some potato-looking-thing at the grocery store labeled Jicama.  I don't know what possessed me to buy it.. ah yes, I remember, it was under 99 cents per pound.   That is my new "sweet spot" for food.  If it is nutritious and in the outer perimeter of the store and under a dollar per pound, I buy it, figuring our family can eat it some kind of way cheaper than the foods that are equally nutritious for well above that price.  I think that is logical, don't you? 

I should have put it next to a potato .. it is at least twice as big.

So I came home with this big root vegetable and began researching on line how to use it.  That is when I discovered, only through a YouTube video that it was pronounced "funny" and remembered her recommendation for this food.  I tend to listen to people who live healthy, or have lost a lot of weight, or improved their health through diet and exercise.  I kind of figure that they will steer me the direction I want to go better than Paula Deen (I love her but the last show I watched of hers she made a dessert that was about 1200 calories per serving)  will.  I have a funny feeling that if I watched too much of Paula, I would need to buy bigger clothes again. 

Jicama is a weird looking thing.  It looks like a big fat potato.  It is a root vegetable grown in Mexico and South America.  A tough tan skin on the outside and a crisp juicy white interior.  The calories for 1/4 pound are only 43 with NO fat, 10 gm carbs, 5.5 gm fiber, and a gram of protein.  It is filled with vitamin C, Potassium, and Fiber! 

To eat it, first wash and then peel the tough outer skin with a knife.  Either cut the ends off or cut it in half so it doesn't roll around the cutting board while you try to peel it with a sharp knife.  Then cut it into slices, julienne shapes, or grate it for a slaw. 

I don't know why this picture is so blue...

The taste is wonderful!  It is much juicier than we anticipated and the taste is a cross between a potato and a sweet apple with just a little nutty undertone to it.  This new food got a resounding THUMBS UP from my whole family!  Even Journey liked it.  I ate it sliced with quacamole.. yummy.  The most astounding test came when my very finicky parents came to see the new floor and I served them Jicama.. just plain.  They both loved it and my dad kept getting into it to grab more.  My mom purchased her own Jicama at the store as soon as they left my house.  Now that means it is GOOD EATS!

So buy yourself a Jicama and find a recipe to try.  I hear it is great cooked as hash browns, in slaw type salads, stirfrys, on vegetable trays with dips, as a snack, or replacing water chestnuts or potatoes in recipes!