Be sure to wash your prep area and your hands before preparing any of the foods listed below. Always wash fresh vegetables and fruits before cooking them (or before eating them raw).

Bok Choy: You can use all the parts of this vegetable! Enjoy it in salads, soups, stir-fry recipes, or shred it and make your own coleslaw.

Brussels sprouts: These vegetables look like tiny heads of cabbage and make a great salad base when shredded. You can also enjoy them lightly steamed. Just be careful not to overcook them!

Cabbage: Cabbage is delicious when served in soups, salads, and coleslaw.

Chard: To get the most nutrients (and the best taste) from chard, boil the leaves in an open pot for 2-3 minutes. You can also sauté them with a little bit of oil until they are just wilted.

Collard greens: Collard greens can be thrown into almost any meal. Try them in soups, salads, your morning egg scramble, smoothies, or as a side dish next to your favorite protein.

Jicama: Pronounced “hi-cuh-muh,” this thick-skinned veggie has crisp, white meat that tastes a little sweet. Jicama needs to be peeled before it can be eaten. It can be served raw or cooked and tastes delicious when combined with apples, carrots, or onions.

Kale: Serve up this leafy green in salads, stir-fry dishes, and soups.

Kohlrabi: Pronounced “cole-rah-bee,” this vegetable has a unique look and a sweet, crisp flavor. Kohlrabi can be green, purple, or white. After it’s peeled, you can serve it raw, steamed, sautéed, or baked!

Okra: This vegetable is easier to chew once it has been steamed or boiled. Okra is delicious in stews, or when served with rice and beans.

Parsnips: This root vegetable is part of the carrot family (and it kind of looks like one, too!) Parsnips are white in color, are larger than carrots, and have a nuttier taste than carrots. Parsnips are delicious when baked, roasted, or mashed.

Radicchio: Pronounced “ra-dic-he-oh,” this beautiful vegetable can be shredded to give a fresh flavor to a salad. Or, try cutting it into four pieces, then roast or sauté it! 

Rutabaga: Pronounced “roo-tuh-bae-guh,” this root vegetable has a thick skin that can be difficult to cut. You will have to remove the skin before preparing it. When doing this, use a very sharp knife or vegetable peeler and be very careful. Once all of the skin is removed, you can grate it raw and add it to coleslaw or a salad. Or, you can cube the peeled rutabaga and then bake or boil it. Once cooked, you can eat it as is, or mash it like potatoes!

Turnips: Add raw turnips to salads, or enjoy them baked, roasted, or in stews with other root vegetables. You can also eat the leafy green tops! Add the tops to a fresh salad, or toss them in your next stir-fry.

Adzuki Beans: Pronounced “ah-zoo-key,” these small red beans are often used in Asian cuisine. 

Cannellini Beans: These beans come from South America, but are often used in traditional Italian dishes such as bean stews and pasta and bean recipes (sometimes known as “fagioli”). 

Northern Beans: Smaller than a cannellini bean, these white beans have a light and nutty flavor. Northern beans are often enjoyed in soups and stews. 

Red Beans: Red beans can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes. They are particularly popular in Louisiana in a dish known as red beans and rice.

Lentils: Enjoyed by cultures around the world, lentils are fairly inexpensive and very delicious. They are also easy to prep and cook. Enjoy lentils in soups, stews, and salads!

Green Peas: Green peas can be eaten whole, including their pods. They can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and are a great addition to salads and stir-fry recipes. 

Apricots: These tasty fruits are in the same family as peaches, plums, and nectarines. Enjoy fresh apricots by themselves, dice them up and add to a salad, or add some dried apricots to your homemade trail mix!

Cranberries: These tart red berries are available fresh, as well as dried, and are often enjoyed in their juice form. While the juice they make is delicious, fresh cranberries provide the most nutrition, so try chopping up a few to add to your next salad! Cranberries are harvested in October, which is why they’re often connected with holiday dishes. 

Currants: Fresh currants are tart and can be used in a variety of baked goods. Dried currants are similar to traditional raisins. They are a sweet addition to salad and grain dishes, too.  

Dates: Sweet, soft, and chewy, you can enjoy this fruit on its own, or thrown into salad or trail mix. Dates also add a yummy sweetness to smoothies.

Eggplant: Often thought of as a vegetable, this purple plant is actually a fruit. When choosing eggplant, look for one that is firm and somewhat small. It should be about as long as a cucumber, and the base should be around the size of a large pear. To keep it from getting mushy, and to get the best flavor, bake or grill your eggplant.

Figs: Figs are sweet, juicy, and delicious! You can enjoy all parts of the fig, including its skin and its seeds. Figs can even be dried and ground up to use as a coffee substitute.

Kiwifruit: Also known as kiwi, this delicious little fruit makes an excellent snack. Just peel and eat. It can also be diced and added to salads!

Kumquat: This tiny fruit closely resembles an orange, but you don’t have to peel it! Just rinse off and enjoy. 

Lychee: This super sweet fruit is delicious all on its own. Cut off one end, then squeeze the fruit from its skin to enjoy. If your local store does not carry fresh lychee, check to see if they are in the canned fruits aisle.

Mango: Mangos are a golden yellow tropical fruit. Enjoy them on their own, in a salad, on top of your morning yogurt, or any other way you like! Mangoes can be tricky to cut, so watch a video on how to cut a mango here. Always be careful when using knives!

Melon: When you hear "melon" you might think watermelon or cantaloupe. But did you know there are more than 20 additional melons to try? Keep your eyes out for melons with names like Horned Melon, Sprite Melon, Santa Claus Melon, Golden Prize Melon, or Jade Dew Melon! They’re all delicious and nutritious.

Olives: Olives make a great snack and can be eaten on their own, or enjoyed in your favorite salad.

Passion Fruit: You can find passion fruit with deep, purple skin, as well as a yellow skin. They are a tart fruit filled with yellow pulp and small black seeds. To eat, cut in half and scoop out the pulp. That’s it! You can eat the pulp of the passion fruit, but not the shell.

Peaches: When ripe, peaches are very juicy. Peaches can be eaten like apples, skin and all, but be careful not to bite into the pit in the center! The pit of a peach should not be eaten. Peaches can also be cut and eaten in slices.

Plantains: Often confused with bananas, plantains and bananas look very similar. So how are plantains different from bananas? Bananas are usually eaten raw. Plantains are generally served cooked, as a substitute for rice or potatoes.

Plums: Plums have deep purple skin and light yellow flesh. You can enjoy all parts of the plum, except for the pit!

Pomegranate: This beautiful red fruit takes a little work to eat. To get to its delicious seeds, you will need to peel and "seed" the fruit using tools like a sharp knife, a strainer, and a bowl of water. Watch this video to learn one way to peel and seed a pomegranate. Always be very careful when using knives!

Amaranth: This gluten-free grain was a major food crop of the Aztecs. It is a complete protein, with a nutty and toasted flavor. It can be eaten as a leaf, grain, or flour. 

Barley: One of the world’s oldest grains, barley is still a main grain in European, African, and Middle Eastern cuisine. A one-cup serving of cooked barley has fewer calories, but more fiber, than an equal serving of quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, sorghum, millet, or wild rice.

Buckwheat: An ancient grain from Japan, buckwheat is 100% gluten-free and a complete protein. With a strong nutty flavor, it can be used as a grain, as hulled seeds (groats), or ground as flour. You can find buckwheat in the form of soba noodles, which have half the calories of wheat pasta and a faster cook time. Buckwheat is also found in a favorite Russian dish called kasha. Buckwheat can be used in soups, stews or combined with vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage or onions.

Bulgur Wheat: Bulgur has been precooked and dried, so it needs to be boiled for only about 10 minutes to be ready to eat – about the same time as dry pasta. Bulgur makes for quick side dishes, pilafs or salads. Bulgur is best-known traditional use is in the minty grain and vegetable salad known as tabbouleh.

Farro: Farro is an ancient wheat grain found in many Mediterranean, Ethiopian and Middle Eastern recipes. It has a chewy texture and mild taste, which makes it a great alternative to rice.

Freekeh: Pronounced “free-kah” and also known as farik, freekeh is a low-fat, high-protein and high-fiber grain. It’s also high in iron, calcium, and zinc. Freekeh can be found whole or cracked. It can be great as a side dish to most any meal. Add it to wraps and soups, or serve it oatmeal-style for breakfast!

Kamut: Another ancient wheat grain, Kamut has a rich buttery taste and is easy to digest. It can be used as a wheat flour substitute. Kamut kernels can be cooked pilaf-style, like wild rice, bulgur or couscous. They also make a delicious addition to salads or soups.

Millet: Millet can be used as a traditional cereal. It can also be used in porridge, snacks, and other types of bread. This is because it is very high in starch, similar to other grains.

Polenta: Polenta is a form of cornmeal that has a rich, velvety, and slight nutty corn flavor. It can be grilled, sauteed, baked, or fried. 

Quinoa: Pronounced “keen-wah,” this grain crop is grown for its edible seeds. Quinoa is a complete protein which comes in three varieties — white, red, and black — that vary in flavor and cook time. When cooked, quinoa creates a light, fluffy side dish. It can also be incorporated into soups, salads and baked goods. 

Sorghum: Sorghum is a 5,000-year-old grain from Australia and Africa. This “sweet,” soft, mild-tasting, and gluten-free grain can be ground into a wheat flour substitute. Sorghum can be popped like popcorn or cooked like risotto. It is also used to make syrup!

Spelt: This grain (a wheat relative) can be used in any recipe that calls for cooked grains. Spelt works well in side dishes, salads, and hearty soups. 

Teff: Teff is a small gluten-free grain about the size of a poppy seed. It comes in different colors, has a mild, nutty flavor, and is a complete protein. It’s a staple grain in Ethiopia, where it’s ground into flour. The whole grain can also be boiled or steamed like rice as a side dish, or added to porridge or stew.

Wheat Berries: When wheat berries are ground into a powder, we get flour. Wheat berries are a whole grain. While they are commonly enjoyed after being ground, wheat berries are able to be cooked like rice and eaten in their whole form. Once they are cooked, they can be enjoyed in both sweet and savory ways. For sweet wheat berries, add milk, honey, and cinnamon, and you have a dish similar to oatmeal. For more savory flavors, add oil, spices, and herbs to your wheat berries.