By Patrice Powers-Barker, Ohio State Extension, Lucas County
The Truth Contributor
It’s time to keep tending to the vegetable gardens and making trips to a local farmers market or farm stand. If you are looking for local fresh produce, in June, many of the foods available are lettuces and “baby” greens. You will be able to find a variety of types and colors of lettuces and baby leaves to eat fresh like kale, mustard and chard – no cooking needed for the baby greens. There will be other cooler weather produce like peas, fresh herbs, small onions, radishes and rhubarb. As the days get warmer, other produce will be available like cherry tomatoes and peppers.
Michigan State University Extension reminds us that fruits and vegetables can help with your overall health in many ways. They can help prevent certain diseases like cancer and diabetes. They can help with obesity and weight control. They can improve your skin, nails and hair. There are many other benefits to getting enough fruits and vegetables.
MSU Extension also challenges us to take a mini-inventory of our fruits and vegetables by tracking how many you eat for the next three days. Don’t do anything different from what you normally would. Just note what, how much and when. Make it specific but make it easy on yourself – for instance, it could be as simple as 12 grapes at lunchtime or one cup of green beans at dinner.
Use your list from those three full days and see if you are eating the recommended number of fruits and vegetables. For a 2,000 calorie a day/eating pattern, adults are recommended to eat two cups of fruit a day and two and a half cups of vegetables a day. If your intake aligns with that, great! If you are not meeting that, do not be discouraged.
A few years ago the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found that only one in 10 adults are getting enough fruits and vegetables. Look at what you are eating and then make a plan to increase your fruit and vegetable intake one small step at a time. After a few weeks or by the end of the month do another mini inventory to see if you have increased your fruits and vegetables.
- Make a goal to buy more fruits and vegetables.
- If it helps you eat more fruits and vegetables, but the prepackaged convenience sizes
- Prepacked convenience sizes can often cost more. If you are stretching the food dollar, pack your own fruit or vegetables in snack size servings, such as a handful of cut up carrots or baby carrots, washed snap peas, or cubed watermelon and store in an airtight container or bag.
- Prepare a tray or plate of fresh fruit and/or vegetables and leave it in the refrigerator, so you have a healthy snack easily available each day
- You don’t have to love all types of fruits and vegetables but the more you try and enjoy them, the more options you have.
- Add extra fruit to dishes such as yogurt, salads, cereal, ice cream and other desserts.
- Add extra vegetables in dishes such as soups, pies, wraps and sandwiches.
Guess where there’s a new fruit and vegetable garden? It’s the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden at 6001 S. Stony Island Ave. Chicago, Illinois, at the new Obama Presidential Center which opens on June 19. While there is a fee for tickets to tour the museum, the campus is open daily, free of charge, for all to enjoy.
The following information is from the www.obama.org website: The garden is named in honor of Eleanore Roosevelt, who “planted a victory garden during World War II as a symbol to encourage families to grow their own food in support of the war effort.” Decades later, Michelle Obama planted a Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn at the White House as a way to spark, “a national conversation about the food we eat and how to create healthier lives for families.” This garden in Chicago continues the work and “this honoree naming will forever link the legacies of two groundbreaking First Ladies.”
If a trip to Chicago isn’t on your calendar yet, make sure to take advantage of the healthy community opportunities in Northwest Ohio. Get out to the parks, visit the Toledo Botanical Garden (that’s where the OSU Extension, Lucas County office is located), and shop at your favorite farmers market or farm stand. A few free opportunities this summer:
- Wits Workout (brain workout, not physical activity) free class for seniors, the second Tuesday of the month from 2-3pm at the Oregon Branch Library. (Tuesday, June 9,
, July, 14, and August 11).
- Families interested in a free Technology Toolkit? It’s a set of “tools” to help make plans and entertain the family without extra time on the screens. Sign up here (and pick up at Toledo Botanical Garden). You will need an email and be willing to complete a short online survey in a few weeks: osu.edu/screenkit
- Lucas County Limitless Livestock Show! A FREE Show for Individuals with Disabilities, including physical, hearing, and visual, for ages nine and up! This show will be Thursday, July 16, beginning at 1 pm at the Lucas County Fair Grounds. Participants and Mentors who want to register, go here: osu.edu/limitless26 (deadline to register June 12)