As you can probably gather, I’m a strong believer in healthy food and knowing where it comes from. It seems to me that our society has lost its links with food production – we grab what we need from the supermarket and don’t give a moment’s thought as to how it was produced or who grew it.
Here’s an easy to watch video demonstrating the health benefits of natural fruit and vegetables – all are great, but they’re even better when home-grown!
The best part about growing my own produce, is that I can control the quality and ensure that all my veggies are bursting with vitamins and healthy nutrients. It’s not always easy and soil preparation can be back-breaking, but the benefits far outweigh the hardship. You can learn more about healthy eating and nutrition at www.nutritiondegreeonline.org
Also, as I’m learning, there are simpler methods of growing food that involve far less work than traditional methods. I’ll report back once I learn the knack of ecological vegetable gardening!
Taking responsibility for what you eat is, I find, very empowering!
Now, although I’m a vegetarian, I’m no saint and I eat too many crisps/chips and probably sup too much red wine. However, I always get my five-a-day and most likely a lot more than that… and most of it comes from my veg plot!
Evening meals tend to be healthy, with varied recipes and choices, and no doubt, I’d lose a little weight if I cut down on the red wine!
Here’s a quick run-down of how to get your five-a-day from your own gardening efforts and the health benefits you’ll get from eating them.
Five-a-DayVegetables
Carrots
- Eat half a large raw carrot or stir fry it as part of a meal
- You can have carrots from May to November straight from your garden
- Contains beta-carotene which can prevent some types of cancer (doesn’t seem to work if only supplements are taken)
- Best eaten with a little fat (oil or butter)
Broccoli
- Eat two spears, best steamed to keep in all the nutrients
- Available from February to September
- Good source of vitamin C and folate
- Contains glucosinolates which are thought to reduce the risk of bladder, lung and bowel cancer
Kale
- Three large tablespoons lightly cooked in butter
- Can be harvested from September to March
- Good source of vitamin C, folate and beta-carotene
- Can combat cancer through phytochemicals, especially lutein
- Reduces the risk of Age-related Macular Degeneration (blindness)
Tomatoes
- Eat one medium tomato or half a dozen cherry tomatoes
- Available from June to October
- Best eaten raw to prevent vitamin and fibre loss
- If occasionally fried, lycopene can be more easily absorbed by the body (this is good for the prevention of prostate cancer and heart disease)
Beetroot (it’s hard to beet!)
- Eat three small beetroot
- Can be picked out of the veg plot from May to October
- Contains lots of folate
- May be beneficial to women in the early stages of pregnancy
- Combats heart disease
- Popular in Chinese medicine
Healthy Food for Kids
Now YOU may be all fired up to eat more healthy and grow your own veggies, but what about the kids? Not easy, is it?
Children, like adults, have varied tastes, likes and dislikes. However, they can get stuck in a ‘food rut‘ where they will only eat certain kinds of food. This needs to be discouraged as soon as possible.
Try to avoid snacks and often kids will start to eat the proper food you give them when they get hungry.
Try cooking with your kids and involving them in the production of the meal. Make it a fun and entertaining experience so that they’ll look forward to doing it again.
At the supermarket, again get the kids involved in naming ingredients and ‘hunting‘ for certain foods (“Where’s the rice?”, “How many different kinds of orange can you find?”).
Try to have regular meals where all the family sit down and if you’re trying out new, untested foods on your children, include a few items that they definitely like.
Here’s to healthy food and YOUR health!
Alan
