Talk:Make plants digestible

Preliminary outline

more nutritious when raw:

• fruits
• bell peppers
• onions

more nutritious when cooked:

• carrots
• beans
• lentils
• potatoes
• grains

technical explanation:

• cooking breaks down cell walls (unleashes nutrients) but also damages some nutrients (especially vitamin c, some b vitamins, and some misc antioxidants).
• btw, chewing also breaks down cell walls without damaging nutrients. So if your food is easy to chew and high in heat-labile discussion ppl arent familiar w this word, so define it here too nutrients, then eat it raw. Else cook it(...)( because for example with carrots, you gotta really chew the crap out of them to ensure maximum digestion/absorption ).

freeze-thaw-blend method:

• breaks down cell walls without heat. "best of both worlds" basically
• i haven't actually tried it very much yet
  • need to gather more empirical data on how many freeze-thaw cycles for each food
  • also, how to measure whether it's effective or not? is the texture of the food an accurate indicator, or do we need a science lab to measure digestibility?
• this level of optimization probably isn't necessary for most foods
  • which foods is it worthwhile for?
  • carrots for example: it preserves antioxidants. But compare to "blended cooked carrots plus multivitamin"; good enough either way
  • green coffee bean drink idea i.e. "raw coffee"
• in some cases it's not viable; for example, beans need to be cooked
  • in the case of soybeans, you can tell that blending it is better for high absorbability that doesn't require a lot of chewing. But for softer-type beans, does blending really make much difference (or is it diminishing returns - is digestibility already good enough if well cooked anyway)?

Elie (talk) 12:12, 28 March 2025 (EDT)

older version of preliminary outline, i wrote awhile back

[page titles i was thinking of at the time: "vegetable puree" or "boil and blend"]

• Why: Absorbability, convenience, getting enough vegetables into your stomach
• What: Carrots, cabbage, ginger, garlic, onions, soybeans, beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils, boiled peanuts/almonds, add spices and salt. No fixed recipe required. Pictures.
  • things not recommended: potatoes or anything starchy
• How: Clean up the veg (cut of any bad bits if there are) (soak, if beans or nuts) (optional freeze-thaw) (chop probably) and then most importantly: Boil and blend
  • idea for a machine that can do some of this automatically. probably can't do the cleaning part but can do the boil/blend part more efficiently, can produce a lot without having to juggle so many containers
  • or, just get big pots and containers (so then put in the 'see also' - second-hand kitchenware, which btw should mention about home waste)
• Mention: For beans, keep the cooking water and maybe even the soaking water. Common myth about flatulance from that water - not true; flatulance comes from undercooked beans. You digest beans a lot better when they're overcooked and mushy - and at that point, most of the nutrients are in the cooking water. Don't let looks deceive you - the water might seem unappealing at first, but after you add vegetables and turn it into a soup, it's really good.

Elie (talk) 14:17, 29 March 2025 (EDT)