Your Health: Tasty, Nutritious Asparagus

If the only asparagus you have eaten is what comes in a can, you haven't had asparagus.

Prepared correctly, fresh asparagus is crisp and delicious and your kids may just  love it.

Like all vegetables, asparagus is loaded with nutrients. With a season from mid-April through June, now is the time to make it part of a healthy diet. 

"It's very low in calories, low in sodium and very high in dietary fiber," said Chef Boo Wells of Sackets Farm House Kitchen.

Wells uses several varieties of asparagus grown locally at Zoar asparagus farm in Rodman.

She says the fresher, the better. 

"You want a very tight bud on top and you want a crisp stem," she said.

The first step is to rinse the asparagus in cold water and snap it to remove the tough ends. Blanching is the most common cooking method.

"When it's tender to your liking, take it out of the boiling water and plunge it into ice water," she said.

"It's called shocking it. It stops the cooking immediately. You want a nice, crisp asparagus."

Asparagus can also be roasted or grilled.

"We put in in a bowl with a little drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper," Wells said.

It's then put in a 375- or 400-degree oven or cooked directly on the grill until nice and crispy.

No time to cook your asparagus? No worries.

Freshly harvested asparagus can even be eaten raw.