Lentils, Beans and Peas in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Legumes - Plant-based Protein

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are underway! Nutrition experts on the DGA Advisory Board have been busy over the past few years with researching the updates that aim to promote better health to prevent disease. The DGA gets updated every five years by the US government's Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture. Public comments have already been received. In fact, they received the most comments ever so far in DGA history with greater than 9,900 comments to date. Another public comment period is still open until February 10, 2025.

At the DGA last recorded meeting in 2024, the nutrition team were discussing considerations for reclassification of beans, lentils and peas from the vegetable subgroup to either their own category or perhaps to the protein food group. Personally, I think the shift to the protein food group in MyPlate would be good because it will highlight plant-based protein options. 

Legumes like beans, lentils and peas are full of vitamins and minerals, especially iron, zinc, potassium, folate and dietary fiber. Legumes are also known to be sustainable foods, which is helpful for the environment; a win for public health and a win for the planet!

Below is a video about the many varieties of lentils that can add nutrition to your meals.

#haveaplant

 

Related Links

Scientific Report of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines

How to Cook Lentils

Nutrition benefits of Peas 

Power Packed Proteins all about Beans

Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

What Are "Pulses?" #haveaplant #gardencuizine

#Haveaplant

What is Konjac? #GardenCuizine #guthealth #weightloss #diabeticfood #WLS

Magical Konjac
Zero Calories? 
Zero Carbohydrates? 
High in dietary Fiber

People who want to control or prevent diabetes, obesity, or who just want to succeed at weight loss, have discovered that a healthy diet and lifestyle are the keys to success. Healthy eaters never get bored from discovering new foods. Have you ever tried a food made with Konjac? Just what is Konjac anyway?

Low carb and no carb foods are popular with Keto and Paleo dieters. Personally, the clients I see that inform me they started trying a keto diet never really get to the stage of ketosis; we can talk more about ketosis another time. Just know that I do not recommend a ketogenic diet for the average person whose is looking to lose weight. 

Eating and cooking with lower carb foods and balancing carbohydrate intake throughout the day is always a winning strategy for glycemic control and weight management. Foods made with Konjac are often near zero calories and zero carbohydrates. 

Studies have shown that Konjac may promote increased butyrate, which improves gut health. And, people with diets low in fiber who suffer from constipation may notice improved bowel movements since Konjac is high in dietary fiber [1].

Knojac comes from a large plant native to China with the botanical name of Amorphophallus konjac. The corms (tuber-like roots) can grow to 10-inches and are the part that is harvested for use in foods. Konjac is most popular in Asian cuisine in flour, jelly, Konnyaku (yam cake) and Shirataki noodles.
Doesn't a food with no calories or carbs sound magical or like every dieter or diabetics dream food? Maybe that's why a noodle brand calls their noodles made from konjac "Magic Noodles." Often noodles made from knojac are packed in water with instructions to buyers to rinse them well before using. 

Reviews from people who have used Konjack noodles are all over social media. So check them out or try them for your self and let me know what you think.

Happy and Healthy Cooking!

Diana 

References and photo credit
[1] Chen, HL; Cheng, HC; Wu, WT; Liu, YJ; Liu, SY (Feb 2008). "Supplementation of konjac glucomannan into a low-fiber Chinese diet promoted bowel movement and improved colonic ecology in constipated adults: a placebo-controlled, diet-controlled trial". Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
Photograph: By James Steakley [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Hand picked our first Jersey Cranberries! #gardenchat @PinesAdventures #GardenCuizine @JerseyFreshNJDA @USCranberries

Vaccinium macrocarpon

Harvesting
Jersey Cranberries!
High in Vitamin C and dietary Fiber

New Jersey ranks in the top 5 in the nation of Cranberry producers. Wisconsin and home of Ocean Spray in Massachusetts are also top producers. October always features tours for Cranberry Farms during harvest season. We finally got a chance to attend one yesterday! We drove to New Jersey's Pinelands where cranberries (and blueberries) grow and thrive.

Dry Harvesting at Quoexin Cranberry Co. in NJ 10/28/17

The sandy soil, pH and water in New Jersey's Pinelands is perfect for growing cranberries. Here is my recap of our fantastic tour hosted by Pinelands Adventures to one of the oldest independent cranberry growers in NJ: Quoexin Cranberry Company located in Medford, NJ - owned by Tom and Christine Gerber. 

As supporting members of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance we received a discount on the cost to attend, which was an added bonus.  

Quoexin Cranberry Farm features 50 beautiful acres of pinelands and cranberry bogs. "The cranberries color up late September," according to our tour guide Rob Ferber, Director of Pineland Adventures. 

Both cranberries and blueberries have a long history of cultivation in the Jersey Pines. Quoexin farm operated their first bogs as far back as 1835-1840.

I always thought cranberries grew in water. This trip taught me that cranberries actually grow on short vines in soil. Flooded bogs with red berries floating on the top are examples of wet harvesting. The wet harvesting method is used for the bulk of Jersey cranberry harvesting. The bogs are flooded with water and cranberries float to the top to be scooped.

Farmers who sell cranberries as fresh fruit use a dry vs. wet method of cranberry harvesting. Bogs are not flooded with water. Instead, they are raked out of the cranberry vines with special equipment that look like lawn mowers.

Quoexin Farm uses self-propelled Western Dry Picker equipment that has a burlap bag in the back to catches the cranberries as they get pulled off the weedy vines. 

Quoexin Farm owner Tom Gerber looking over a fresh Cranberry Harvest

As the bags are collected they are dumped into large holding bins before going to the packing house for sorting.

We were able to get up close to the cranberry bog edge. Once up close, we could see the red berries all over the low growing vines. This was the first time I ever picked cranberries! The raw cranberry's tasted good and not as tart as I expected.

 

Cultivars of cranberries include:

• Howe (discovered 1843 in East Dennis, MA)
• Champion
• Early Blacks (discovered 1852 in Harwich, MA)
• Jerseys
• Wisconsin Gray Leski #1
• Stephens - (discovered 1940 in Whitesbog, NJ)
• Ben Lear

The Jersey Pinelands sits atop the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, a water source with 17 trillion vital gallons of water.

After the tour, for dinner we used some of the fresh cranberries in a dish called Ruby Chicken. We will make it again! It combines cranberries with flavors of orange, cinnamon and ginger.

This trip reminded us not to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy fresh cranberries. We plan to keep enjoying them in recipes and will look for Top Crop brand, which is the label to support this local NJ farmer.

We really enjoyed visiting Quoexin Cranberry Farms beautiful property. Thanks to Tom Gerber and family and Rob and to all involved. We look forward to more outdoor adventures and learning more about our states precious resources, environment, history and where our foods come from.

I planted a few sprigs of fresh cranberry vines in one of our raised beds. It isn't very sandy and is certainly not a bog. But, we'll see... today is raining and maybe some will take root and we can have the thrill of picking a handful of our own cranberries in the New Year!

Nutrition Data Cranberries
Excellent Source: Vitamin C, dietary Fiber
1 cup chopped (110 grams) = 51 calories, 15 mg (24% DV) Vitamin C; dietary Fiber 5.1g (20% DV); Vitamin E 1.3mg (7% DV) and other nutrients. 
Cranberries also contain proanthocyanidins that can enhance gut microbiota. Cranberries have bioactive catabolites that have been found to contribute to mechanisms affecting bacterial adhesion, coaggregation, and biofilm formation that may underlie potential clinical benefits on gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections, as well as on systemic anti-inflammatory actions mediated via the gut microbiome.*
http://advances.nutrition.org/content/7/4/759S.full 
 
Related Links
SavetheSource.org

7 Things You Didn't Know About Cranberries 
Health Benefits of Cranberries
The Cranberry Story 
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Quick and easy to prep Lentil Soup #GardenCuizine #nutritious #recipe

Lentil Soup

low sodium, high fiber 

low carb, low fat

Yields 3 quarts
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 celery sticks
3 carrots
1 medium onion
1 Tablespoon Bryani Paste*
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 small tomatoes (or one small can diced tomatoes with liquid)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
10 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cup whole lentils, rinsed 
1 teaspoon mild hot sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Putting it all together
Wash and chop celery, carrots, onion and tomatoes. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a soup stock pot. Add chopped celery, carrots and onion; stir. Simmer the aromatics letting them cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally for at least 10 minutes. Stir in the Bryani Paste and thyme. Stir in chopped tomatoes and garlic powder. Stir in water. Add lentils and bay leaves. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are soft. 

When the soup is finished cooking: remove the bay leaves. Stir in cheese and hot sauce. Puree some, not all, of the soup. Serve or store in quart containers - label, refrigerate or freeze.

• Serve with extra hot sauce and grated cheese (rather than salt) and a 1/2 sandwich, whole grain crackers or crusty bread
• Experiment with soup variations adding: potatoes, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, Asofoetida, ginger, coriander or fresh garlic minced vs powder

Enjoy!
*Bryani is a paste blend of curry, ginger and tasty spices. Ask for it at your supermarket.

Excellent Source: Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A and Folate
Good Source: Vitamin C and Thiamin
If you're counting carbohydrates: Only 9g net carbs

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Homemade Lentil Soup: 1 cup (281g): 122 calories; total fat 4g; saturated fat 1g; trans fat 0; cholesterol 2mg (1% DV); Sodium 137mg (6% DV); total carbohydrate 16g; dietary Fiber 7g (29% DV); protein 6.5g; Vitamin A 2806 IU (~56% DV); Vitamin C 6mg (~10% DV); Thiamin 0.2mg (~13% DV); Folate 108mcg (27% DV) plus other nutrients...

Related Links
Cooking Up Legumes Guide  
Recipe and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Just Peachy Hoppin John with Kale #GardenCuizine #HappyNewYear #GoodLuck #cowpeas @foodbankSJ @EatRight_NJ

Just Peachy
Hoppin' John with Kale

This high fiber, low sodium recipe was made similar to my GardenCuizine New Year's recipe post last year. This year I changed the greens from spinach to kale and added one jar of flavorful Just Peachy Salsa - a local salsa blend from The Food Bank of South Jersey.
 
Follow the recipe here 
with the following substitutions:

• Use black-eyed cowpeas (Fagiolo dell'occhio) from your own garden; or, if you only were able to harvest a small baggie full like us - use store-bought, plus whatever you can spare of your own. I added 1/4 cup extra cowpeas from our garden for good luck!
• Use Kale greens instead of spinach: rinse kale, pick off stems, break leaves into bite size pieces. Follow recipe.
• Stir in one, 16-ounce jar Just Peachy Salsa (or 1-2 cups chopped tomatoes)

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Simmer on low heat partially covered until ready to serve. 

Happy and Healthy New Year 2017!
Related Links
Cowpeas Recipes
Just Peachy Salsa Provides Funds to Help Food-Insecure Families
Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Fiber, What About It? #GardenCuizine #NNM TY @serenagwolf Apple Pie Oatmeal is the best!

Fiber, What About It?

I'm testing out recipes for a National Nutrition Month cooking class. Thanks to Serena Wolf's recipe inspiration, my family woke up to slow cooker Apple Pie Oatmeal made with steel cut oats, apples and ground flax, topped with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, walnuts and pure maple syrup. Harry said it was the best oatmeal he ever ate! We sat around the breakfast table savoring the flavors of our oatmeal and the topic of fiber came up.

Dietary fiber passes through our GI tract and supports digestion; but, fiber itself isn’t digested. Why do we need it then? For many reasons. 1) Fiber helps us feel full, keeping hunger in check. 2) Fiber helps regulate sugar in our body. 3) Fiber keeps our BMs regular. 4) Fiber helps lower bad cholesterol. 5) Fiber helps prevent some diseases. 

Scientific research shows that high total dietary fiber intake is linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease. Fiber benefits are also linked to helping breast cancer, IBS and diverticulosis.

How much Fiber do I need?  
Adults and kids need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber every day. According to the National Institute of Health, most Americans are not meeting the recommendations and average 10-15 grams of fiber per day.

Aren’t there 2 kinds of Fiber?
Yes. Soluble and Insoluble

What’s the difference? 
“What is an example of each?”

Soluble fiber attracts water like an absorbent paper towel. The more water it soaks, the moister it becomes – like a gel. Soluble fiber helps lower blood glucose and cholesterol. 

Examples of foods containing soluble fiber include: oatmeal, barley, beans, nuts, seeds and fruit and veggies such as blueberries, prunes, citrus fruits, onions, avocado, Brussels sprouts, beets, broccoli and Jerusalem artichokes. Since soluble fiber absorbs water, adequate water intake is recommended as fiber intake increases.

Insoluble fiber keeps your BMs moving, helping to prevent constipation. You’ll find it in vegetables and whole grain foods like popcorn, wheat bran, wheat germ, Fiber One, whole wheat bread and brown rice.

Fiber comes from plants - many of which provide both types of fiber. Whole, natural foods are your best sources for dietary fiber.

• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Fruits
• Legumes
• Nuts and Seeds

Related Links
Easy Ways to Boost Fiber in Your Daily Diet
Fiber in Whole Grains 
What is a Whole Grain   
¿Que es un Grano Entero?   
Top 5 Foods that can Lower LDL Cholesterol 
Photo and Blog post Copyright(C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Feed your gut microbiota Marcella Beans #GardenCuizine #2016foodtrend

Sorana Italian Beans

Marcella Beans

Have you ever heard of Marcella Beans? I just read the wonderful story and thought I'd post the information here. Marcella Beans are white cannellini beans grown in California from Sorana Italy seed stock by heirloom bean growers at Rancho Gordo. They were named Marcella after Marcella Hazan, Italian cook, author, and lover of good, wholesome foods. Sadly, Marcella past away in 2013 before tasting these US grown beans that she inspired.

This year we will be enjoying more beans in our cooking repertoire. As a dietitian I'm always seeking out what foods can help people I know; many of whom suffer from inflammatory diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. 

I remember learning about the importance of Butyrate at Rutgers. The high fiber in foods like beans feeds gut microbes that in-turn fights inflammation. Gut microbes are attracting more research and studies and sure are a fascinating topic.  

NY Chef Seamus Mullen recently shared with GQ Magazine that he predicts more gut-friendly, high fiber foods will be among the hottest food trends in the New Year. Eating more fiber-rich foods makes sense for better health.

White beans can be incorporated into many recipes. I like the way Marcella Hazan herself said she enjoyed Sorana beans - simply drizzled with olive oil and fresh black pepper on good crusty bread. I can't wait to taste these. Please share how you prepare Marcella beans if you get a chance to try them too.

Buon Appetito!

Related Links
Changing Your Diet Changes Your Gut Bacteria
Seamus Mullen: the Chef who Cured Himself of Arthritis

Baked Heirloom Beans. Fiber Superstar! #GardenCuizine #HealthyCooking

Baked Heirloom Beans
Christmas Limas

dietary Fiber Superstar!

Resolve to eat more beans in the New Year! Beans provide excellent dietary Fiber and minerals and are a low cost, lean protein for healthy eating. Christmas Limas have a pleasant chestnut texture. Prepare them as you would any bean. You'll notice that after cooking, the beans will become huge - up to the size of a quarter!

Prepare heirloom beans into a vegan or vegetarian main course or side dish; or enjoy Christmas Limas any time of year as a side to compliment a lean protein (tofu, chicken, fish, pork, etc.). We served Christmas Limas last night as a side dish with grilled chicken and a salad. As you can see in the photos, the beans become more brown when cooked.

We haven't tried growing limas yet, but have heard that they are easy to grow. You can look for dried heirloom Christmas Lima beans from local gourmet suppliers or online from suppliers like Rancho Gordo, which is where we bought ours.

Lima beans are indeed a bean, but they are also starchy, so rather than classifying them in the bean (legume) category, the DGA classifies Lima beans in with starchy vegetables like potatoes, green peas, corn, plantains and cassava. Beans are unique; because of their excellent protein content, 1/4 cup of cooked beans can count as one ounce of protein. 

Research shows diets rich in high fiber foods, such as beans, may reduce cholesterol and the risks of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried Christmas Limas 
water
small piece dried kombu seaweed - optional

1/2 cup onion, diced
1 Tablespoon (Tblsp) olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp molasses
1 teaspoon (tsp) dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon minced hot pepper
1 small sweet pepper - optional (we happened to have some frozen from summer) 
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
pinch black pepper

Putting it all together

• Place dried beans in a stock pot. Top with water to cover by an inch or so. Let soak for 3 hours (or whatever works with your schedule; there really is no set time).
• Drain water. Refill pot to cover beans by 2 inches. Add small piece dried kombu seaweed. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until tender. Drain and set aside so beans don't overcook - SAVE bean liquid. Remove and discard kombu.
• Saute onion in 1 Tblsp olive oil. Add peppers. Stir and cook until onions are translucent. Stir in molasses, dry mustard and sugar. Add ketchup, Worcestershire and liquid then beans. Stir gently to combine ingredients. Stir in cider vinegar, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil.
•  Transfer to a baking dish and bake covered 30 minutes at 375 deg. Uncover, reduce heat and cook another 15-30 minutes. 

Related Links
Heirloom Christmas Limas - my article on Dave's Garden
Nutrient Profile Beans
Beans top the charts as a Fiber Superstar! Today's Dietitian
Benefits of Beans and Legumes 
Baked Limas with Tomatoes and Peppers 
Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Breakfast or Brunch Eggs in Avocado #GardenCuizine

Breakfast or Brunch

Eggs in Avocado

Protein-rich eggs and creamy, nutritious avocado go perfect together for breakfast or brunch. The dish can be made in a skillet or baked in the oven. I first discovered it thanks to one of my weight loss management patients who tried and liked a recipe she saw on The Chew.

Some cooks prefer to bake the egg in avocado with the skin on or some prefer to remove the avocado skin first and cook the egg and avocado in a skillet. We found that the egg whites did not cook through in the skillet since they were suspended by the avocado. So we removed the avocado skin and did a combination cooking method that browned the avocado in an oven-proof skillet first then finished and cooked the egg in avocado in a preheated oven. This ensured the egg to be food safe with the raw egg whites completely cooked.

Yields: 4 servings
Preheat oven to 350°F
 
Ingredients
2 avocados
4 eggs
paprika
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh herbs - optional

Putting it all together

• Carefully slice around the avocado, cutting each avocado in half. Using a large spoon scoop out the avocado away from the skin - try not to break it. Remove the pits.
• In a large oven-safe skillet, add a little olive oil and heat over medium high heat.
• Add the avocado halves sliced side down. Simmer until golden and gently flip using a spatula.
• Crack an egg into each half, sprinkle with paprika, season with salt and pepper, and finish in a preheated 350°F oven. Garnish with fresh herbs from your garden!

Optional accompaniments: pan seared Canadian bacon and toasted bagels, whole grain bread or raisin bread. 

GardenCuizine Avocado Nutrition: ½ whole avocado 100g: calories 161; total fat 14g; total carbohydrate 8g; dietary fiber 7g (28% DV); protein 2g; Vitamin C 10 mg (17% DV); Vitamin E 2.1mg (7% DV); Vitamin B6 .25 mg (13% DV); Folate 82 mcg (21% DV); Potassium 488 mg (14% DV)

Excellent source: dietary Fiber, Folate
Good Source: Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium
Rich source of heart healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats

Avocados contain other nutrients including 25 milligrams beta-sitosterol (plant sterol) per 1-oz. serving. Plant sterols have been scientifically shown to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Buon Appetito!

Related Links
Michael Symon's Eggs and Avocado with Tomato and Basil
California Avocado Nutrition 
Avocados, Cholesterol, and Plant Sterols 
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved.
Note in the photo I only used 1 1/2 avocados not a full 2 as the recipe calls for since we were just serving 3 people this morning.

Energizing breakfast or brunch: Peppers and Eggs #GardenCuizine

 
Add Nutrition to your scrambled

egg breakfast with

Sweet Banana Frying Peppers

Low sodium, low fat, Sweet Banana Frying Peppers in scrambled eggs adds great flavor and an excellent source of dietary Fiber and Vitamins B6, C, and K to your recipes. Sweet Banana Peppers also provide a good source of potassium and vitamin A. Enjoy this tasty, easy way to add veggies to your breakfast.

GardenCuizine Peppers and Eggs freestyle recipe: meaning that you do not need to measure ingredients. Use as many eggs or Egg Beaters that you wish to use to serve the number of guests coming for breakfast or brunch. Figure on at least one sweet banana pepper per person.

Ingredients: 
Eggs* (we prefer free range organic or Egg Beaters. *You can use tofu for a vegan option)
Sweet Banana Frying Peppers (nothing beats organic home grown)
Olive oil
fresh herbs as desired  (add turmeric in scrambled tofu)
ground black pepper at the table; no need for added salt

• Wash peppers first
• Cut in half and remove seeds
• Place in microwave safe container with a little water and steam for 1-2 minutes on high
• In a skillet with a generous amount of olive oil, saute, continuously stirring so peppers don't blacken
• Remove and set aside cooked peppers, drain excess oil
• Add Egg Beaters or scrambled eggs to skillet
• At the very end of cooking the eggs, stir in cooked peppers
• Serve hot and enjoy!

GardenCuizine Sweet Banana Peppers Nutrition data: 4 medium (4 ½-inch long) sweet banana frying peppers: 48 calories; 0.8g total fat (1%DV); 24mg sodium (1%DV); 8g dietary fiber (32%DV); 624 IU vitamin A (12% DV); 17.6 mcg vitamin K (22%DV); 0.8 mg vitamin B6 (40%DV); 152 mg vitamin C (253%DV WOW!!); 472 mg potassium (13%DV)
Related Links
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables 
Veggies for Breakfast? yes!
6 Sly Ways to Sneak Veggies into Breakfast
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Homemade Just Peachy Black Bean Dip in 5 minutes #recipe #GardenCuizine @foodbankSJ

"Just Peachy" Black Bean Dip

Low fat ~ High Fiber ~ Low sodium

Boost your nutrition and weight management diet with high fiber protein from beans. Serve beans as a side dish or puree beans for dips or sandwich and fajita spreads. Pureed beans are quick and easy to make in just 5 minutes. Kids love homemade bean dips too, which make a tasty snack on whole grain crackers and raw fresh vegetables. Try and avoid the temptation to serve bean dips with tortilla chips to encourage eating more veggies.

Black beans are low in fat, cholesterol-free, and provide 30% of the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber. One ounce of black (or white) beans yields 2 grams of protein. In general, beans are inexpensive and readily available in cans or dried. Dried beans are easily hydrated. Simply rinse, soak in water and then cook until tender. Of course, you could also grow your own beans in your home or community garden.

To reduce flatulence sometimes associated with legumes, introduce beans to your diet gradually. Some people find products like Beano helpful.

Ingredients

1 can cooked black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup prepared salsa: Food Bank of SJ Just Peachy Salsa! (of course, homemade or any salsa can be used. We like to support our local food bank)
splash hot sauce (optional)

Putting it all together

• In a small bowl or directly in your storage container - using a hand held blender - puree the beans, water, lime juice and cumin. Add more water if needed.
• Stir in the cilantro and salsa
• Enjoy!
• NO added salt is necessary

Serve with your favorite multigrain crackers and rinsed raw garden vegetables, such as baby carrots, celery, cucumber slices, bell pepper slices and grape tomatoes.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data ...coming soon
Related Links
Support your local food bank  Food Bank of South Jersey
Nourish Healthy Kids List of Legumes
USDA canned Black Beans fact sheet

Photo, recipe and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Propagating FIG trees from cuttings #GardenCuizine FIGS: fabulous for dietary fiber

Propagating Fig Trees

Gardeners propagate fig trees using various methods either from cuttings or air layering. I'm going to try propagating fig trees from cuttings. Our little, lone fig tree (unknown ID) is taking forever to yield figs. Over the past 5 or so years, the growth has been quite slow. It started out as literally a 3-foot stick. Now it is 5 feet with a small amount of branching at the top. The few figs that we thought we saw last year - disappeared! They probably got eaten by squirrels. After years of anticipating fresh figs, we're still waiting... The good news is that there are other varieties of figs to grow that may actually yield us a fig harvest. The same goes for you in your USDA zone. If at first you don't succeed, try another type of fig tree.

At a Dave's Garden Mid-Atlantic region plant swap yesterday, we received a generous handful of fig tree cuttings from a fellow Dave's Gardener who thinks her tree could be a common fig cultivar named 'Celeste'. 

We weren't planning on starting fig trees from cuttings, but since we received them - it's sure worth a try. I'm going to try rooting the fig cuttings as recommended by New England Gardener on his 'How to Grow a Fig Tree from a Cutting' YouTube video:

Propagating Fig tree cuttings 

from a dormant tree

Stage One

1) Get cuttings from a dormant fig tree that grows in or near your USDA zone
2) Wet newspaper; squeeze out excess water
3) Wrap each cutting in newspaper, keep the tips sticking out
4) Place cutting(s) into a plastic bag. New England Gardener uses a baggie. Our cuttings were longer than his and would only fit in a plastic shopping bag
5)  Place in a warm area out of direct sunlight for a few weeks. We put ours on our microwave next to the refrigerator, which generates some warmth
6) Open the bag daily for some air circulation; then close again. 
7) After 2-3 weeks, check for developed roots and proceed with Stage Two 

 I'll update this post regardless of the outcome. Fingers are crossed that this works. And, if it does, we may end up with a Fig Tree forest.

Happy and Healthy Gardening! 

UPDATES: week one: have been checking and airing out the cuttings daily; noticed some mold starting on the ends that had some leaf buds starting to show, therefore uncovered the ends. Plastic bag still covers the slightly moist newsprint-covered stems. Plan to continue to air out daily by opening the bag just for a moment or so and then covering again.

• 5/26/13 - as expected, the newspaper near the open end started to dry out. Took a look deeper at the covered stems and some cuttings still looked like some mold is growing. This could be because my cuttings were not completely dormant, they had some growth showing. Unwrapped all the cuttings and put in a vase w/water. New plan is to put each cutting in its own recycled water bottle w/moistened peat moss and see what happens... 
• 6/7/13- well, I decided not to put the cuttings in peat moss; instead, they all got dipped in rooting hormone and placed in potting soil. We didn't have enough clear plastic bottles to use, which would have been nice to view root (if any) development. Will have to wait and see. They were on our porch. Today, the pots are in our driveway getting a good rain soaking from tropical storm Andrea that is passing through our region. 
• 7/28/13 - they all appear dead. I'm not going to toss them yet just in case there is a chance that one will show a sign of life in the future. A member of Dave's Gardens who also received cuttings from the same source as me, reported having success wrapping her fig cuttings in moist newspaper and waiting patiently. Perhaps I should have ignored the mold and kept our fig cuttings in the newsprint longer rather than jumping the gun and planting them in soil before having any roots.
  

Related Links:
Uncommon Nutrition from the Common Fig - Ficus carica