This Year Resolve to Grow
Did you make a new years resolution? Was it to have a healthier lifestyle? If so we want to support and encourage you. All through the month of January we’re sharing via Facebook tips and facts about how gardening, fruits and vegetables benefit you. Each post will be on this web page too. Just a little encouragement so that this year you can resolve to grow!
- Fruits & Vegetables are Nutritious in Every Form!
It’s a wildly popular rumor that frozen veggies and fruits aren’t as nutritious as their fresh counterparts. This simply isn’t true. Studies by the FDA have confirmed that any decrease in nutrition from freezing vegetables is negligible at best. So you can eat it fresh, frozen, or even drink it and you’ll get the same benefits! Do keep in mind that if you drink it, it has to be 100% juice. A brand with only 10% is obviously not going to be more nutritious.
- There is No Such Thing as Negative Calorie Foods
There is a long standing myth out there that you can eat some fruits and vegetables that require more calories to digest than they actually give. Unfortunately, this is total hogwash. There 
are foods out there that have very few calories. For instance, a stalk of celery has between six and ten calories. There is a metric called TEF (Thermal Effect of Food) that measures how many calories are used to digest food. Generally speaking, it’s only about 10% to 20%. That means a ten calorie stalk of celery still gives you eight calories even after digestion. Now you know!
- Broccoli Contains More Protein than Steak
Broccoli is actually quite good for you. Aside from the usual nutrition one garners from eating veggies, broccoli in general has a great deal of protein. Calorie for calorie, there is more protein in broccoli than steak. Since it doesn’t come with all those saturated and trans fats or cholesterol, you can get all the protein you need with a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Let’s not forget all of the other awesome nutrition it provides. Pumpkin seeds are also a good choice as they have more protein than a similar amount of ground beef.
- Peppers Can Encourage Proper Clotting
Peppers are great even if most people use them as a spice rather than using them as a food. A little known fact about cayenne peppers is that they can promote the clotting of blood over 
wounds. According to experts, you can sprinkle some cayenne pepper into a wound where it will act as gauze. This will help stop the bleeding. Eating cayenne pepper can also help equalize blood pressure and promote clotting from the inside. That means it doesn’t matter if you eat it or literally put it on the wound, it will help it heal faster.
- Apples Give You More Energy than Coffee
We’d never ask coffee lovers to give up their java. However, if you’re finding yourself a little low on energy during the afternoon then consider eating an apple in the morning with your coffee. Thanks to its high carbohydrate, vitamin, and mineral content, apples have the perfect storm of nutrition to help you stay energized all day.
- The Skin Usually has the Most Nutrition
Mom was right, if you peel your fruits and vegetables before you eat them, you may be making a nutritional mistake. On many fruits and veggies such as carrots, apples, and cucumbers, a
good percentage of the nutrition is actually stored in the skin. That means when you peel them, you’re actually peeling away nutritious benefit. The skins also contain a lot of fiber and we’ve already talked about all the great things that fiber can do.
- Onions are Really Good for You
Onions can make you cry and make your breath smell terrible. Believe it or not, the reason onions do those things are the exact same reason why onions are good for you. Onions contain over 100 sulfide-containing compounds. These contain a number of health benefits such as the prevention of asthma and some types of cancer. Onions are related to leeks, garlic, chives, and scallions. While they don’t all have the same level of health benefits, they do all have similar health benefits.
- Veggies Make You More Healthy!
You hear it all the time that fruits and veggies can make you more healthy and help prevent disease. The unfortunate part is that no one tells you why. The list of reasons why are way too 
long but we’ll go over a couple of them here. The high fiber content can help you lower cholesterol which will help prevent all diseases that can be caused by high cholesterol. Eating fruits and veggies instead of sugary or fatty junk food can prevent weight gain which can prevent diabetes as well as virtually all other diseases and conditions that comes with being overweight. The list goes on and on. People don’t just say that fruits and vegetables can prevent diseases as a marketing tactic. They actually do these things for valid reasons.
- Watermelons Can Keep You Hydrated
Watermelons aren’t just giant and nutritious but they can also play a key role in keeping you hydrated. In the days before modern plumbing when water became plentiful, people used to carry around watermelons on long trips to stay hydrated. Due to its thick skin and the fact that it’s 92% water, explorers and desert-faring folks carried the fruit around so they had something to drink. This is why watermelons make great food for picnics, beach visits, or other outdoor activities that take place predominately when it is hot outside. Bring it along, it can keep you from getting dehydrated!
- Bananas are Fascinating!
Bananas are a favorite fruit around the world. It tastes good, it’s high in potassium, and it’s delicious when placed in a dish with ice cream and chocolate syrup. It is also the most interesting
fruit in the world. In the 1950’s, a disease called the Panama Disease all but wiped out an entire species of banana which motivated farmers to use the Cavendish banana which we all eat today. The bananas we eat are actually all cloned from a single banana plant in southeast Asia which means that every single banana is exactly the same banana. Also, bananas are technically herbs.
- Brussels Sprouts are REALLY Good for You!
In many countries around the world, Brussels sprouts reign as the least enjoyable vegetable out there. Some claim that their bitter flavor prevents true enjoyment and cooking them to remove the bitterness is more of an art than a skill. What you likely don’t know is that Brussels sprouts are among the most nutritious veggies out there. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, has virtually no calories, no fat, no cholesterol, and it even fills you up. You can find a variety of recipes that help deal with the occasionally bitter flavor but you should definitely try to pack more of these puppies into your diet.
- Fruits & Vegetables have Tons of Fiber!
A lot of people knew this one already but what they don’t know are the benefits of fiber. It can help keep your bowel movements regular, help lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, and 
help you feel fuller for longer. Pretty much all of those things can lead to you feeling healthier, losing weight, and eating less bad food.
- Potatoes Top Bananas in Potassium
We need potassium to help strengthen our muscles and control our blood pressure. Bananas are high in it, but they aren’t the best source. Why not try a spud instead? Potatoes have more potassium. They don’t have any fat and are a good source of vitamins and iron, too.
- It May be Best to Steam Broccoli
If you’re trying to cut your cholesterol, steam your broccoli — that helps it lower your levels more. Raw broccoli has cancer-fighting compounds, though. In a part-by-part breakdown, the 
florets have a few more nutrients than the stalks. And the leaves, which most people throw out, have some nutrients not found in either the stem or the florets.
- Got A Cold?
Got a cold? Green sweet bell peppers have twice the vitamin C of oranges. Red and yellow bell peppers have four times as much.
- Family Matters …
Gardening is a form of activity every member of the family can enjoy. Special projects or those on a larger scale can be accomplished with the entire family’s participation. Combined with a 
relaxing dinner, it is a sure way to engage each member of the family for an entreating and relaxing day outdoors.
- Tiny Carrots aren’t Really “Babies”
Those cute little bagged carrots in the grocery store aren’t baby veggies. They’re cut from full-grown varieties that are sweeter and thinner than traditional carrots. When they turn a bit white, they’re just drying out. But if they’re slimy, it’s time to throw them out. Aside from being convenient, they’re vitamin-rich like full-size varieties.- Apples are Cousins of Roses!
- Vegetable Gardening
Numerous people love organic vegetable gardening as it supplies the source of healthy food and provides a great sense of accomplishment when harvesting. Vegetable gardening is favored by families as the experience connects the family to the natural cycles of growth and renewal. It also reduces the environmental impact transporting and storing the food. It contributes to family’s wellbeing and creates memories for years to come.Gardening is credited with health and healing. Its benefits have been known for centuries, but in recent years the idea has been expanded into many different forms and even recommended by physicians as a form of therapy for patients experiencing anxiety, depression or elevated stress syndromes.
- Eating Fruits & Vegetables to Gain Weight is Hard to Do!
conscious people tell you to eat them for snacks. A back of chips contains fat, oil, and a lot of calories. A pound of carrots contains none of those things. It is absolutely absurd how much fruit and vegetables you can eat before the calories start stacking up. One stalk of celery is about ten calories. For the average 2,000 calorie diet, you would have to consume 200 stalks of celery. Good luck with that!- Flower Gardening
Besides appreciating the beauty of the flowers and their aesthetic value, this type of gardening is often cultivated for aromatherapy. Lavender, for example, is known to induce relaxation and diminish anxiety. Flower gardening is generally practiced for its decorative purposes, but can be combined with other types of gardens for superb visual effects and function such as flower and herb gardens.- Broccoli!
Ounce for ounce, Broccoli has more vitamin C than an orange and as much calcium as a glass of milk.
Squash is a great source of beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant.
It’s up to you whether or not to include any of those items in your next fruit salad.
Basil is a great source of vitamin A, magnesium, potassium and iron. Additionally, basil oil is a traditional treatment for insect bites and bee stings.
Orange peels have over four times the amount of fiber of the actual fruit. It also contains more antioxidants than the actual fruit. The only downside is that it’s difficult to find a way to eat it. The best way is to grate it up like cheese into an orange zest. You can use that to season all sorts of foods. This is how they make orange chicken in Chinese restaurants. Not bad for a part of the fruit that almost everyone simply throws away.
