Good nutrition is important for both mind and
body. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is
one of the best things we can do.
Starting in the
morning with strawberries or banana on cereal, and apple or orange for
snack, a salad or tomatoes or lettuce with a
sandwich at lunch, vegetables as a side dish
or in
the entree for dinner you've done your five for the day.
Fruits and vegetables are important for both
vitamins and fiber. Fresh, is better than
frozen and frozen is better than canned nutritionally speaking. Dark green
and bright
yellow or orange vegetables provide more
vitamins than the lighter ones. Romaine
lettuce, leaf lettuce, or spinach is a better choice than iceberg or head
lettuce.
Cucumbers, radishes and mushrooms, wile
flavorful have little nutritional value. You
can increase the value of your potato by cooking it with the skin on.
Skins make
mashed potatoes more interesting!
Cook vegetables as quickly as possible top reserve
the flavor and nutritive value.
Steam or stir fry
to keep the color bright and protect those vitamins.
To stay within your budget buy fruits and vegetables
that are in season or on sale.
Strawberries and
cantaloupe are very expensive and not very good in the winter but
very reasonable and good in late spring early
summer. Different kinds of apples are
priced
better at different times of the year. I really like Macintosh apples but
only buy
them in the fall when they are plentiful
and fresh and less expensive. Locally grown
vegetables are abundant in the late summer and early fall. Use what is
available and it
will cost less.
You can easily grow many varieties of lettuce in a
window box. As it grows you can
cut the
leaves and it will continue to grow. Herbs are easy to grow in containers
and
add a lot of flavor to your cooking.
Here is a recipe that's quick and has several
vegetables. You can add other vegetables
as
you like
8 oz. Dried Pasta, linguini or fettucini, cooked
according to package directions.
1 Tbsp. Sesame oil
2 Tbsp. Cooking oil
2
Carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 bunch green
onions, cut on the diagonal in 1 inch pieces
1 red
pepper cut in thin strips
4 Tbsp. bottled teriyaki
sauce
Drain cooked pasta, toss with sesame oil, cover and
set aside. Heat the cooking oil in
large
frying pan or wok until hot. Add the chicken and cook until no longer
pink. Add
the vegetables stir and cook until
vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes. Toss
chicken and vegetables with pasta and teriyaki
sauce, serve. Serves 2.
This article is contributed by Cindy Jones, psychiatric nurse.
Are there any more favorite recipe to
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last modified 6/11/98