Let The Gardening Begin!

On the first day of Spring Nick and I took the first step in preparing our garden for the year. Last year the right side of our garden didn't grow (picture below). We think it was because that side receives less sun than the left side (we're so smart!).

Because of this we planted the right side crops early this year, indoors (kale, spinach, cantaloupe).




The rest of the seeds will be planted outside later in the Spring.





I hear conflicting information from gardening gurus all the time (for example, some say plant spinach in cold weather, others say don't...it's confusing). I decided to order a gardening magazine this year just so we have some reliable information, rather than using word-of-mouth and the internet all the time. Hopefully we receive the first edition soon!





We're hoping our garden will be more successful this year, since we are starting earlier. Last year we didn't even move into our house until May, so our garden didn't get planted until late May, early June...too late! Considering what the garden looked like when we moved in (picture below) I think it was pretty impressive that we were even able to grow anything.




This year Nick is even researching how to grow blueberries. I think that's going to be more work than he can imagine...




This year we're also writing everything we do in our "gardening journal". This way we know when things were planted, we know when they should start to grow, and we can go back to read our notes next year in case we need to make changes or do something the exact same way.



QUESTION: Are you planting a garden this year? What will you grow? If no garden, what's your favorite produce to buy at the summer farmer's markets??

I'm most excited about the tomatoes we are growing this year. Last year we didn't grow tomatoes (what were we thinking?!) so I'm looking forward to some tomato and mozzarella dishes this summer!

Eat Right With Color! And, "Complete Bar" Winners

Can you believe it's MARCH?! Am I the only one who feels like the years go by faster every year? I swear by the time I'm seventy a year will last one day. Anyway, happy March, and happy NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH! This month's theme is "Eat Right With Color", which to me means it's time to start focusing the importance of coloring your plate with all the varieties of fresh fruits and veggies that our Mother Earth has to offer! Take advantage of all the different colors of produce, such as red (cranberries, red peppers, strawberries), green (spinach, kale, asparagus), purple (eggplants, blueberries), orange (sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots) and so many others. They all contain different nutrients, each providing very special and unique powers, which work together to help protect the body (and plant!) from various diseases.



Here are some of my favorite colorful and nutrient-packed recipes from this past year;

Drool Worthy Avocado Chicken

Spinach Pesto

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Tempeh Sloppy Joes

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

My Favorite Kale Side Dish

Summer Salsa

This year, as the Public Relations Chair of The Columbus Dietetic Association, I had a mission to create a helpful pamphlet that could be used to find in-season produce and uses for those produce. Here is the final product!


Inside there a list of the in-season produce for summer, winter, fall and spring, plus a list of ideas for how to use some of the more uncommon produce.


And of course each season has two simple and delicious recipes.


We are selling these pamphlets to friends and family. All profits will go towards dietetic scholarships and future CDA events. I thought about selling these on my blog, but then decided not to. I may do another giveaway soon and have this and one of my Complete Bars be the prize. It really depends on how well we do at selling these things. I hope people buy them! I worked really, really hard on creating them (and I am not known for my creativity...).

And now it's time for me to announce the giveaway winners....

CONGRATS to Lauren of Foodtrainers, and Erin of The Healthy Apron!!!

Please e-mail me your address (GCsmiler19@yahoo.com) and I will send your prize asap.

Question: What's your favorite green, red and orange fruit and/or vegetable?!

Here are mine;

Green: broccoli

Red: Strawberry

Orange: Sweet potato (pumpkin is a very close second!)

Nothing beats sweet potato + almond butter (except for maybe.. sweet potato + walnut butter!)

How Can You Combat The Loss of Nutrients in Today's Produce?

I was reading through some health-related articles the other day and came across this one, which shocked me....sort of. The article reported that many of our once very nutritious fruits and veggies have lost their nutritional value over the years. They used an example of broccoli, which in 1950 had 130 mg of calcium per serving, and now has 48 mg per serving. What the heck? What's going on?

According to the article our common use of "selective breeding and synthetic fertilizers" decreases the produce's ability to soak up nutrients from the soil. The effect is opposite in organic foods, which are actually put under more stress during their growth, forcing them to produce more phytonutrients (plant nutrients, which benefit our bodies, such as beta carotene and lycopene). Can't afford organic? Here is what the article suggested (and I agree):



- Pair your produce: Basically this is indicating that many of the beneficial nutrients in fruits and veggies are better absorbed when eaten with other foods. I've talked about fat soluble vitamins before, such as vitamin A, D, E, and K. These all need fat in order to be absorbed. For example, a professor at The Ohio State University found that pairing tomatoes and avocado is a great way to increase the absorption of cancer-fighting lycopene (other forms of fat help too, such as olives, oil, and/or cheese).




- Buy smaller items: Put down that HUGE tomato! You're better off buying the smaller grape tomatoes. Smaller fruits and veggies have more concentrated sources of phytonutrients (plant nutrients). Most of the disease-fighters are found in the skin. When you eat a handful of grape tomatoes (or grapes!) you are getting more surface area of skin than if you eat half of a giant tomato.


- Pay attention to cooking methods: Did you know that some fruits and veggies actually become more nutritious when heated? Broccoli, tomatoes, and carrots are some examples. They each contain a type of phytonutrient called carotenoids, which are better absorbed by the body when heated. Steaming is a great way to heat vegetables because minimal nutrients are lost in the water (such as what happens when you boil vegetables in water).



- Eat within a week: Research suggests all produce should be eaten within one week of purchasing if you want to obtain the most health benefits. Try to plan your meals close to the date when you bought your produce.


Question: What are some of your tips for keeping your produce packed full of nutrients?

One thing I do is buy a lot of frozen produce, especially vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. When frozen produce are harvested they are immediately cooked and then blanched to stop the cooking process. After this they are quickly frozen to help lock in all of the nutrients. No matter how long the produce is in the store, waiting to be bought, or in my freezer, waiting to be heated, they aren't losing any more nutrients!

Coming Up

Saturday is my last day in Pittsburgh. I'll admit that I will sort of miss it here, as I've really grown to like it (no, I have NOT become a Steelers fan....), but I'm more excited to go home! I won't post again until next week, when I'll be posting some recaps of my days here. What have I been eating? What have I been doing? Find out next week.

Thanks for reading everyone. Have a great day!