April 6, 2020
Source: The Martha Stewart Blog
Photo Source: Unsplash,
During this time at home, it’s important to stay as healthy as possible and to eat lots of nutritious, immunity-boosting vegetables and fruits. We will be planting our crops in the outdoor vegetable gardens very soon, but for now, I am fortunate to have an indoor vegetable greenhouse filled with fresh produce - lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, mache, turnips, celery, herbs and more.
I am so pleased with the new layout of my vegetable greenhouse. Last year, I decided to build and install 16 garden boxes for our indoor crops. These boxes keep the space tidy and provide protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled. We’ve had an abundance of delicious and nutritious vegetables all season long.
All the crops look fantastic. Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is also known commonly as coriander or Chinese parsley. Coriander is actually the dried seed of cilantro. Cilantro is a popular micro-green garnish that complements meat, fish, poultry, noodle dishes, and soups.
Here’s our bed of parsley. Parsley is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.” It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it’s established.
Chervil, sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil, is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It is commonly used to season mild-flavored dishes.
Here is a crop of arugula. Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable that provides many of the same benefits as broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts. Arugula leaves, also known as rocket or roquette, are tender and bite-sized with a tangy flavor.
This vegetable is called celtuce. Celtuce, also known as stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce, is a cultivar of lettuce grown primarily for its thick stem or its leaves. It is especially popular in both mainland China and Taiwan, where the stem is interchangeably called qingsun or wosun.
Celery is part of the Apiaceae family, which includes carrots, parsnips, parsley, and celeriac. Its crunchy stalks make the vegetable a popular low-calorie snack with a range of health benefits.
Sorrel is a small edible green plant from the Polygonaceae family, which also includes buckwheat and rhubarb. The leaves have an intense lemony tangy taste. Everyone knows I love fresh lettuce. It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long. This leafy lettuce has excellent flavor and texture.
I always grow a variety of lettuce in succession, so there is always some to pick for healthy salads.
Kale is related to cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. There are many different types of kale – the leaves can be green or purple in color, and have either smooth or curly shapes.
This lush green kale will go into my green juice, which I have every single day. Click on the highlighted link to see how I make my juice and other immune system boosters.
The Swiss chard stalk colors are so vibrant with stems of red, yellow, rose, gold, and white. Chard has very nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets. Swiss chard is a tall leafy vegetable that’s part of the goosefoot family – aptly named because the leaves resemble a goose’s foot.
Swiss chard is an excellent source of potassium, calcium and magnesium, minerals that help maintain healthy blood pressure.
The stalk colors contrast beautifully with the green glossy leaves.
Turnips are smooth flat-round and white vegetables that mature early and are best harvested young – when they are up to two inches in diameter. The flavor is sweet and fruity, and the texture is crisp and tender.
Both the root and the leaves of the turnip are edible. The leaves have a taste similar to mustard greens but with a less intense spicy flavor. Fresh leaves contain lots of vitamin-C.
Beets are sweet and tender – and one of the healthiest foods. Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.
Beets are also low in calories.
Beet greens and the stems are edible and make a great substitute for any green such as spinach, Swiss chard, and bok choi. They can be steamed, sauteed, braised, added to soups, and eaten raw.
I also grow a lot of spinach. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2.
And in the back, I have a double bed of New Zealand spinach which grows naturally as a trailing plant. New Zealand spinach is also known as cook’s cabbage or tetragon and is a leafy plant that grows native in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Japan.
It is so nice to have all these fresh greens ready to be picked and eaten until my outdoor gardens begin producing. I hope you are all eating lots of good foods to keep you healthy during this time.
How can you introduce garden vegetables, fruits and foods into your diet. How could it improve your health? Why?
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