Children learn gardening and healthy eating tips at one of the American Heart …

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Children learn gardening and healthy eating tips at one of the American Heart Association’s teaching gardens.Courtesy photo

Many garden fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber and low in fat and calories. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and blood pressure, ultimately helping reduce the risk for heart disease, our nation’s number one killer. The American Heart Association recommends eating eight or more fruit and vegetable servings every day. And, this Spring, the Association encourages you to try growing your own produce in a backyard garden.

Here are some helpful tips to boost fruits and vegetables in your garden and your diet:

Keep it colorful

Challenge yourself to plant and try fruits and vegetables of different colors. Make a red/green/orange section (tomato, lettuce, carrot) and see if you can consume a rainbow of fruits and vegetables during the gardening season.

Roast away.

Try roasting garden vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions, carrots, or eggplant. Long exposure to high heat will cause these foods to caramelize, which enhances their natural sweetness and reduces bitterness. Enjoy vegetable dippers. Chop raw vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Try bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower and celery, and dip your favorites into low-fat or fat-free dressings.

Sip smoothies and try fruit pops.

Puree your fruits and place in an ice tray to freeze overnight. You can eat the fruit cubes as mini-popsicles or put them into a blender with lowfat milk for a morning smoothie. Watermelon, strawberries, cherries, cranberries, raspberries and red apples are great summer treats.

The American Heart Association believes in dramatically changing the way America thinks about food and consumes it. And there are plenty of facts to back us up. For example, research indicates people who garden and prepare their own food have a greater chance of trying – and liking – fruits and vegetables.

For more information on how fruits and vegetables can support a healthy diet visit www.heart.org.