Bionico - Mexican Fruit Salad #GardenCuizine

Bionico

Mexican Fruit Salad

Ensalada mexicana de la fruta

Energize yourself and your friends and family with the benefits of a refreshing fruit salad. Reap the benefits from dietary fiber, antioxidants and important nutrients like Vitamins A and C. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend adults consume about 2 cups of fruit per day. Mexican fruit salad is easy-to-make for company or to bring to a barbeque or party.  

I first prepared Bionico for my Cinco de Mayo theme meal celebration at South Jersey Healthcare cafe during my dietetic internship. A lot of people tried it, and judging by the small amount that was leftover - it was popular! Recently, I made Bionico again, for a garden party in Mt. Bethel, PA. By the time we left, the fruit salad was almost all gone. 

What makes Bionico so delicious is the sweet and creamy cinnamon yogurt sauce and crunch of granola served over top of the fresh fruit. The yogurt topping adds calcium and protein; and the granola adds nutritious, cholesterol lowering whole grains. 

Serving tips:

• Some recipes call for mixing the sauce in with the fruit, but you may want to serve the sauce and the granola on the side because some people might be lactose intolerant or simply prefer their fruit plain.   
• Most people won't know to try their fruit with the yogurt sauce and granola toppings, so you may want to make a sign and post it near the fruit salad with a serving suggestion. I usually just type it up on our computer and say, "Bionico Mexican Fruit Salad ~ top fruit with cinnamon yogurt sauce and organic whole grain granola."  
• For added fun and festive decor, decorate the serving bowl with homemade or store bought Mexican themed cutouts to give your serving presentation a Southwest look.  
•  I've tried making the sauce with fat-free sweetened condensed milk and prefer using regular sweetened condensed milk. Experiment for yourself and use whatever you like best. In my opinion, using yogurt rather than sour cream, which is often used in Bionico recipes, makes this recipe a healthier version overall.

Putting it all together

This is a GardenCuizine 'freestyle' recipe: use any measurements you wish to use and any fruit you have available; locally grown, seasonal fruit is always a good first choice. Garnish with sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), fresh mint or lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) from the garden. 

Fresh cut fruits

Prepare a large bowl or your choice of assorted cut fruits, such as:

Strawberries

Bananas

Oranges
Cherries
Watermelon

Blueberries

Pineapple

Papaya

Mango

Bionico Sauce

Combine the following ingredients and toss with fresh cut fruit or serve on the side

2 cups Vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup Sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon Honey

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon 

Granola Topping

Make your own granola or purchase granola from the grocery store. Serve on the side or atop the sauced fruit. One of our favorite granolas is Cascadian Farm® organic dark chocolate almond granola made with whole grain oats, whole grain wheat and whole grain barley.

Buen provecho!

Related Links: Fruits and Veggies More Matters

Why is it Important to Eat Fruit?  

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
Blog Article and photos Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

Native New Yorker, Italian Food, Gardens and Family Memories...

Salottolo Family Memories 

by Junetta Salottolo Mehl

post 1: I Can Remember
Mom's short stories will be posted as I get them from her. She will be celebrating her 80th birthday June 11, 2011. Now that she is retired, we all thought it would be nice if she started to share family memories and stories of food, fun and special times. Mom (Junetta) has had to wipe away many-a-tear as she routes through her treasure box of beloved photographs to pick the ones she wants to share most with you. Mom will be typing her memories on her computer and I will be blogging them without any alteration to her content. Buona lettura 

I can remember, as early as seven years of age, visiting my grandparents at 2753 Briggs Avenue, Bronx, NY. My grandmother, Nonna, would beat the yolk of two or three eggs, mix this with sugar and it was a delicious treat that I would have every time we visited. My grandfather, Nonno, would usually talk with the men in Italian. And Nonna would talk to the women in Italian. But the funny thing was that, when they spoke to me, they would speak in English.

My grandparents' home was a three-story row home. I think my father's cousin, Babe, lived on the third floor (before she married). No one ever went up there. It was out-of-bounds. There was a basement which was accessible from an inside door in the pantry. And there was a back yard with a garden that Aunt Sally, my father's sister, took care of. I loved that back yard. It was my first introduction to gardening and that interest has stayed with me my whole life. Thank you Aunt Sally. You were a good teacher!


The garden was as wide as the house was wide with row homes on either side. If you stood in the yard with the house behind you and looked up, you'd see an eight or ten-story apartment building. That's why that little garden was like a 'Garden of Eden' right in the middle of the Bronx.


A few relatives of my grandparents lived on Valentines Avenue which was within walking distance. I especially remember one elderly woman who was called Zia. Once in a while we'd visit her apartment. However, if you kept on walking past Zia's house, you'd come to Fordham Road. This was a major shopping area anchored by the department store called 'Uptown, it's Alexanders.' I visited this store many times with Aunt Sally and /or her sister, Aunt Mary.

Related Links

The Salottolo Family

Photographs: Top picture is my grandmother, Phyllis Salottolo, with mom - her first child - Junetta Josephina Maria. The picture was taken in the backyard garden at Briggs Ave.

Second photo is Junetta, taken from the back porch at Briggs Ave.

Portanini Portabella Mushroom Panini

Portanini^TM

Grilled Portabella Mushroom Panini
with Roasted Red Peppers 

and low-fat Garden Basil spread

This sandwich special sold out in the cafe at South Jersey Healthcare's Regional Medical Center. Sales were strong, even before 12 noon. At that time we knew this recipe was on its way to being a popular National Nutrition Month grill special. And it was indeed. 

Never having offered this special, my supervisor had me start with preparing 3 cases of portabella mushrooms. They sold quickly - we had to prepare another 3 cases. Everything had to be remade, not just once, but three times! I quickly mixed together another batch of low fat garden pesto spread and roasted another batch of red bell peppers. Some of the Portanini^TM success was attributed to the fact that it was a meatless Friday for people observing Lent.

Recipe and Development

I came up with the Portanini^TM during National Nutrition Month^® - a promotion from the American Dietetic Association focusing attention on 'Eating Right with Color' from all the food groups. Each dietetic intern (there were 5 of us) had a chance to feature their own specials during the month. After another intern had success the previous week with a zucchini squash panini, I decided to feature my portabella mushroom sandwich as a panini too.

Portanini^TM Nutrition

The vegetable-packed, portabella mushroom panini provides an excellent source of Vitamins A, C and K, dietary fiber, folate, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, potassium, selenium, copper, manganese and iron. And it is a good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, phytosterols, zinc, magnesium and calcium. The dressing and cheese are sources of sodium, as well as flavor; therefore the seasoning should be used sparingly. 

Eating the recommended daily amount of vegetables is easy with a Portanini^TM. MyPyramid recommends adults consume 2 1/2 - 3 servings of vegetables a day. This panini packs in 2 servings of sliced portabella mushrooms, and 1 serving of dark green spinach.

Putting it all together

Yields 4 servings (note: you can easily use this recipe as a guide and make it for large crowds as we did at the hospital cafe)

4 Portabella mushroom caps

2 Tablespoons San-J Tamari Sesame gluten-free dressing

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

5 oz frozen chopped Spinach (or 4-5 cups raw fresh)

3 oz low-fat shredded cheese blend (we used a Tex-Mex 4-cheese blend)

4 slices roasted red peppers

2 Tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise

1 teaspoon garden basil pesto (homemade is the best kind!)

Grill Mates Montreal Chicken Seasoning to taste (garlic, salt, onion, black pepper, parsley, red pepper, orange peel, paprika, green bell pepper)

8 slices Italian Panini (or gluten free) bread

Prepare the next 5 steps and then you will be ready to make your Panini sandwiches

1. Rinse mushrooms under water and rub tops with hands to clean off surface microorganisms. Slice each mushroom into 4-5 slices and place in a large bowl or pan. Drizzle olive oil and San-J dressing over mushrooms and gently toss to coat; set aside
2. Unthaw spinach and squeeze out excess liquid. Hand mix together the spinach and shredded cheese; set aside
3. Combine the mayo and garden basil pesto with seasoning and set aside
4. Roast red peppers, slice (skin on) into 1/4" strips and set aside
5. Grill or sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until tender. Remove to a holding pan.

Panini sandwich assembly

1. Spread the basil mayo on each slice of bread.
2. Arrange 4-5 cooked mushroom slices on one slice of bread.
3. Top with 2 ounces of cheese/spinach blend.
4. Top with 4 slices of roasted red peppers.
5. Grill using a Panini press or on a flat top griddle or cast iron skillet until heated through.

Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis: serving size 1 sandwich (266g): calories: 347; total fat 15g; saturated fat 3g; trans fat 0; cholesterol 10mg; sodium 548mg; total carbohydrates 40g; dietary fiber 5g; protein 16g; Vitamin A (73%DV); Vitamin C (58%DV); Calcium (19%DV); Iron (20%DV)

Special Thanks to Janelle, Holly, Victor, Tammie, Art, Joel, Linda and everyone who helped me at SJH!

Related Links

San-J products and recipes
for Vitamin D: Read product labels - try Dole portabella mushrooms with vitamin D. Vitamin D is added the same way that milk gets fortified - by UV light. 
Blog Article and photos Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved. 'Eat Right with Color' is a slogan for the American Dietetic Association's National Nutrition Month®

Eat Right with Color all year! #NNM #GardenCuizine

Eat Right with Color all Year!

                

Now that National Nutrition month is officially over, the American Dietetic Association's theme of Eating Right with Color is a good motto to continue throughout the year in our daily diets. Affordable, colorful foods include common fruits and vegetables from apples to zucchini. Eating a variety of fruits, veggies and whole grains every day energizes and provides our bodies with a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, disease-fighting antioxidants and other important nutrients.

Colorful foods does not mean exotic or expensive hybrid veggies like cheddar-colored, green or purple cauliflower, although they can be. Cheddar-colored cauliflower varieties are higher in Vitamin A than regular white cauliflower. Purple cauliflower boasts higher amounts of anthocyanin antioxidants than other colors. And in general, all colors of cauliflower (raw or cooked) are good sources of dietary fiber and folate, and are excellent sources of Vitamins C, K and beneficial phytonutrients.

Other nutrient dense cruciferous veggies include: broccoli, kale, collard greens, watercress, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, kohlrabi, mizuna, turnips, rutabaga, broccoli rabe, arugula, mustard (seeds and greens) and radish.

Related Links

Top 10 ways to enjoy Cauliflower
Cruciferous Vegetables Linus Pauling Institute 
Cauliflower Popcorn Recipe Video Kids Eat Right
Aloo Gobi (Punjabi-style Cauliflower and Potatoes with Ginger) Recipe
Blog Article and photo Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved. 'Eat Right with Color' is a slogan for the American Dietetic Association's National Nutrition Month® 

Nutrition Data: Chard - A Dark Green Leafy Vegetable #NNM

Eat Right with Color!

Dark Green Leafy Nutrition

The US Department of Agriculture recommends adults eat 2 1/2 - 3 cups of vegetables a day. The amount recommended varies depending on your age, sex and level of physical activity.  Eating a daily colorful variety from all the food groups, especially fruits and vegetables, will help you maintain a healthy body weight; reduce disease risks; plus, provide your body with important antioxidants and nutrients like beta carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, dietary fiber, iron, magnesium, calcium, copper, potassium, folate and Vitamins A, B-6, C and K.

The USDA classifies vegetables in 5 subgroups based on their nutrient content: dark green vegetables, orange/red vegetables, starchy vegetables, dried black-eyed peas and beans and 'other'. The 'other' category includes a lot of veggies, including: eggplant, cucumbers, celery, cauliflower, mushrooms and asparagus. Chard falls in the dark green leafy vegetable category along with collard greens, bok choy, butterhead lettuce, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, turnip greens, spinach, romaine lettuce, mesclun and watercress. 

As you can see from the nutrition data posted above, chard is packed with dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants - a good reason to grow and eat this colorful veggie! Fresh, frozen or canned veggies can be prepared in a wide variety of recipes.

Related Links
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
My Pyramid Vegetables Food Group
Swiss Chard Recipes
Swiss Chard and Sweet Potatoes
Baked Swiss Chard Stems

Blog Article Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

'Eat Right with Color' is a slogan for the American Dietetic Association's National Nutrition Month® Nutrition Data calculated by Diana Wind using USDA nutrient values.

Eat Colorful Fruits and Veggies Every Day!

Garden and Grow 

Your Favorite Colorful Produce

RED/PINK - apples, tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, currants, chard, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, grapefruit, guava, red onion, rhubarb, red radish, Gogi berries
ORANGE - papaya, butternut squash, carrots, nasturtium flower, oranges, tangerines, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mango, kumquats, apricots, cantaloupe melon, peaches
GREEN - spinach, lettuce, kale, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy (pak choi), celery, cucumber, kiwi, lime, honeydew melon, gooseberries, broccoli raab, sorrel, tomatillos, peppers, peas, avocado, asparagus, arugula, cilantro, oregano, mustard greens, mizuna, purslane, watercress, basil, chives, dill, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
BLUE/PURPLE - blueberries, grapes, raisins, eggplant, prunes, blackberries, purple basil, purple pak choi, red cabbage, purple asparagus, purple potatoes, purple cauliflower
WHITE/TAN - garlic, ginger, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes, onion, horseradish, shallots, scallions, leeks, lychee fruit, pears, cherimoya
YELLOW - corn, lemon, squash, pineapple, nasturtium flower, bananas, turmeric, Yukon Gold potatoes, yellow raspberries, yellow tomatoes, yellow watermelon

It's National Nutrition Month: Eat Right with Color
Eat A Colorful Variety Every Day
FRUITS Nutrition Facts
VEGETABLES Nutrition Facts 
Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.
Eat Right with Color logo used with permission from the American Dietetic Association

Nutrition Education and Art Activity for National Nutrition Month

Nutrition Education and Art Activity

for National Nutrition Month

     The American Dietetic Association presents National Nutrition Month every March to increase awareness on the importance of eating right. This year's 'Eat Right with Color' theme focuses on eating from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to reap the health benefits of important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables provides your body with a variety of nutrients that helps in maintaining a healthy body weight and reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases. This GardenCuizine^TM nutrition month project is fun for all ages, especially seniors and children. 

Teaching Nutrition Lesson

• Prepare a short introduction and nutrition education lesson plan
• Design 3 or more masters for coloring pages using simple outlines of fruits and vegetables; include a line for the individual to sign their name; you may wish to include the name of the facility or school
• Make several copies of each master coloring page according to how many participants you expect to attend
• Art supplies may include, but are not limited to: paint brushes, containers to hold the paint brushes (fill a few of the containers with a little bit of water to dip the brushes), cutting board, chefs knife, artist painter pallet's, red cabbage, plastic baggies, paper plates, napkins
• Fruit and vegetable snack such as oranges and baby carrots
• For coloring: fresh radish bunches, fresh spinach leaves, dried turmeric powder, beet powder and Açai fruit powder 
• Wash all the produce and allow to dry before using
• Sprinkle a few pinches of the dry powders in the pallets divided evenly among the group
• Slice the oranges into wedges and explain they are for snacking. I tried using oranges for coloring and the pigments don't rub off easy - they are best used as a snack. 
• Divide the produce evenly among the paper plates (several participants can share a plate)

Activity Highlights

• Talk about your sample foods and their nutrients
• Highlight a few of the antioxidant pigments found in the foods such as: beta carotene and lycopene
• Keep coming back to the main points: 

Different color foods contain different nutrients, which is why it is important to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day. 

 
Eating from a variety of colorful fruits reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases.

Eating from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables helps people of all ages maintain a healthy body weight.

 

• Thinly slice the red cabbage in front of your audience. Place 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon of water in each baggie. Do as many baggies as you desire. Seal them tight and pass around for volunteers to gently squish and squeeze. As they are squeezing, explain that anthocyanin pigments are what make the water color purple. Snip a small piece of the edge of the baggie and allow the nutrient-rich purple liquid to drip out into a clear container. Show this around the room so everyone can get a close-up look.

Coloring with Natural Plant Pigments

• Have the participants stack up several spinach leaves and roll them into a tight "paint brush". The natural green chlorophyll pigments will rub off when rubbed on the coloring page. Participants can experiment using radish greens too.
• Fresh radishes can be picked off the greens and hand held like a crayon and used to color, the natural red pigments will rub off onto the coloring sheet.
• Brushes can be dipped in water and mixed with the powdered fruits and veggies to make a natural pigment watercolor. Avoid using too much water or the color will be too weak.

Experiment and Have Fun!

Thank you to my Dietetic Internship director: Maria Basche, MS, RD South Jersey Healthcare for making this opportunity possible for me and to my preceptor: Diane Griffith, MS, RD and the staff and residents at Cumberland Manor Nursing Home

Related Links
Eating Fruits and Vegetables: Why Color Matters  
The Cook's Garden Nutrition
What Color is Your Food?
Blog Article and Photographs Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

Dry Rub Seasoning Wedding Favors #GardenCuizine

A Wedding Favor with Flavor

Peppers add great flavor to foods. Easy to grow, they like the summer heat and can survive occasional neglect. Fresh picked peppers add nutrients and flavor to meals and garden salads. Abundant harvests can be dried for uses in spice rubs and seasoning mixes. This summer we plan on growing Alma peppers, to dry for paprika. 

Reduce Salt with Dried Seasonings

The recent 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (about 1 teaspoon of salt) a day. And for salt sensitive populations* - over half of all Americans - the amount of sodium recommended per day is less than 1,500 milligrams. 

*Salt sensitive populations include African Americans, those over age 51 and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney problems. 

Dried herbs and spices serve as a good substitute to high salt in prepared foods. The American Dietetic Association supports using herbs, spices and spice rubs in cooking in place of salt. And the American Heart Association recommends preparing foods with little or no salt to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Wedding Favors with Flavor

Last summer my cousin Kristine got married. Their wedding favors were adorable little containers of homemade gourmet spice rub. She said they had a lot of fun making them too! Here is a recipe that we use for a tasty low salt dry rub:

Spicy Dry Rub
1 Tablespoon (T) paprika
1 T brown sugar
1 teaspoon (tsp) ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp salt

Combine ingredients and store in an airtight container kept in a dark place. For use in wedding favors, make a large batch and portion into small containers labeled with the names of the bride and groom and their wedding date. They may opt to add a personal note on a color coordinated card attached with ribbon. The message on the back of Kristine and Matt's Spice Rub card said, "Thank you for celebrating with us!" 

Enjoy on barbecued ribs or chicken. 

Note: Many of our homemade spice rubs are adapted from spice rub recipes found in the Jack Daniel's BBQ Cookbook. Be creative in your cooking and don't hesitate to reduce the salt called for in the recipe or to add or delete ingredients. 

Related Links

Homemade Ground Pepper Spices 
American Heart Association on Sodium
Blog Article and Photograph Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

Family Mealtime Improves Child Nutrition #GardenCuizine

Cooking and Eating as a Family

The Family Mealtime bulletin board pictured above was created for the Tri-County  Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) office in Vineland, NJ during my dietetic internship at South Jersey Healthcare. The nutrition lesson plan was titled 'Family Mealtime: Take a New Look'. Families and their children contributed to the board by coloring, gluing and sticking on the hearts, eyes and colorful letters to make the personalized art shown. The cut-out figures represented children and their families sharing mealtime together. The star burst illustrated five points to keep in mind when planning family mealtime:

1. Make Mealtime Fun
2. Make Mealtime a Priority
3. Be Creative and Flexible
4. Minimize Interruptions (from cell phones, TV, etc)
5. Keep Meals Simple 

Family Mealtime   
Planning family meals can be more of a challenge for some than others, especially for parents who work at night. Family members share responsibilities. The grocery shopper has the responsibility for contributing to their family's health with the quality of the food selections bought at the store (fresh fruits and vegetables may be more affordable than you think). The person doing the cooking has the responsibility for the amount of added fat and salt in the finished prepared foods. Too much fat and sodium can lead to poor health - obesity, heart disease and hypertension.

Healthy Choices

Cooking methods can influence the fat content in the foods. Baking, poaching and steaming are more healthful cooking methods, compared to frying foods. Reading product labels is also helpful for choosing foods with lower fat and lower sodium. 

Family Mealtime Improves Nutrition
Improved nutrition happens when young and old eat planned meals served at the family table. Home cooked meals are more likely to be healthier than fast foods grabbed on-the-go.

Researchers of 18,177 adolescents in a National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health found that the presence of a parent(s) at dinner is positively linked to higher consumption of fruits, veggies and calcium-rich dairy foods. [1]  Another study found similar results: young adults who ate meals with their families, had statistically significant higher intakes of nutritious fruits and dark-green and orange vegetables, and lower intakes of soda, according to a 5-year longitudinal study in Minnesota that studied 946 female students and 764 male students in high school. The researchers concluded that eating family meals during adolescence may have a lasting positive influence on healthy diets and meal patterns. [2]

Benefits of family mealtime include:

• Improved Nutrition
• Better Communication
• Shared Learning
• Stronger Family Bonds
• Shared Cultural Heritage 

Does your family eat meals together?    
Although eating meals with family has been shown to be an asset in adolescent development, many obstacles can stand in the way of planned family mealtime. Several books have been written about this. The good news is that many parents have reported that with some extra effort it was possible to plan enjoyable family meals at home.  

Related Links

Family Meals linked to improved Asthma
Kids Health Family Meals 
Correlations Between Family Meals and Psychosocial Well-being Among Adolescents
What is WIC?
Healthy Meals and Snacks for Families

References

[1] Videon TM, Manning CK; Influences on adolescent eating patterns: the importance of family meals, Journal of Adolescent Health, May 2003, Vol 32, Issue 5, p365-373
[2] Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, et.al.; Family Meals during Adolescence are Associated with Higher Diet Quality and Healthful Meal Patterns during Young Adulthood, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Sept. 2007, Vol 107, Issue 9, p1502-1510

Blog Article and Photographs Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved

Eat More Plant-based Foods #GardenCuizine

Plant-based Foods can Improve Lacking Nutrients in American Diets

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recently reported that kids (and teenagers and adults too) have diets lacking in dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium and potassium. Eating more plant-based foods can offer more of these important nutrients. For example, just 1 cup (121 grams) of grilled Dole® brand portabello mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light prior to packaging, can provide an excellent source of Vitamin D (100% DV) and a good source of Dietary Fiber 2.7 grams (11% DV) and Potassium 529 mg (15% DV). Try portabello mushrooms cooked in veggie stir fry's or marinated and grilled as a 'burger'.   

Eating more plant based foods, at least once per week, is the focus of a pilot program called 'Kids Cook Monday', which was launched in Harlem, NY. The children reap the added benefits from cooking and eating together as a family.

 

Related Links 

The Family Table
Kids Eat Right 
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers 
Dole Mushrooms
Blog Article Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.

Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors #GardenCuizine

Get a jump-start on your Garden
Start Seeds Indoors

As winter blankets the outdoors we are reminded that January and February is a good time to determine which vegetables, flowers and herbs would benefit by starting them indoors before the last frost. Starting healthy vegetables from seeds offers great personal satisfaction to those who enjoy gardening. Seeds are far less expensive than plants, plus you can grow varieties that might not be available at your local garden centers in the Spring. All of our home garden annuals, with the exception of a few spontaneous purchases here and there, are grown from seeds.

For more information about starting vegetable seeds indoors and to learn how to save hundreds of dollars by making your our own seedling grow light rack - check out my Dave's Garden article, 'Starting Seeds Indoors'.

Have fun planning your garden and if you have kids - get them involved. Studies have shown that children who garden eat more fruits and vegetables.

Related Links:

Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors Rutgers Cooperative Extension 

Fruits and Veggies More Matters 

Starting Seeds Indoors University of Minnesota Extension 
Blog Article Copyright © 2011 D.Wind. All rights reserved.