Have you ever tried jicama? I had heard of it, but never tried it until a client told me that it was their new obsession. I love teaching people about new foods, but it’s fun to every once in a while be introduced to something new by a client!
In case you were wondering what jicama looks like….
And to give you an idea of the size, here is a picture of it in my hand.
If you’re wondering how the heck to pick out a good jicama, and how to store it, check out this link.
The great thing about jicama is that it’s pretty low in carbohydrates, and it’s loaded with fiber. After doing some research on jicama, I learned that the majority of its fiber is soluble(yeah!), but sadly for me, the specific type of soluble fiber is inulin(otherwise known as a short-chain of fructose linked together…also called fructans). Inulin is also considered a prebiotic, which means it can serve as food for good bacteria in the gut. The reason it’s bad news for me is because I malabsorb things like inulin. Fructans (like inulin) are an oligosaccharide, and they are supposed to be avoided or limited on the low FODMAPs diet (the “O” stands for oligosaccharides). So, when I eat my jicama I try to stick to a small serving.
So now let’s imagine it’s 3pm and you’re at home on your day off. You’re not hungry, but you want to much on something crunchy (it’s that 3pm craving for salty crunch that is hitting you hard!). What do you do? Make these:
Mexican Jicama Snacks
(Makes enough for about 5 large mindless munchie occasions)
Ingredients
1 large jicama
2 limes, juiced
1 T red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. sea salt
Directions
Peel the jicama, and rinse it off under cold water.
Cut into fry-sized sticks.
Combine in a medium bowl with juice, pepper flakes, and salt
Toss to coat.
Serve/eat as finger food!
(Ignore the tacky purple nail polish that is flaking off my thumb nail. My mom will be so angry if she sees that….)
Delicious!
Estaimted Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size: 1/5th of the batch)
Check out all that fiber! So, the total carbohydrates is 22 grams. You can take half of the grams of fiber (which is 6) and subtract that from 22 (which makes 16) and this is your “net carbs” (if you are a carbohydrate counter). So this is a salty and crunchy snack with less than 100 calories, only 16 carbohydrates, LOTS of fiber, a good source of vitamin A (and almost iron…), and an excellent source of vitamin C.
QUESTION: Have you ever tried jicama?? What about any other new finds that you’d like to share?
