Growing Greens: How to Raise Spinach

The YouTube channel, Gardenerd, goes over how to grow your own spinach. This is the first of many videos I will be posting on growing your own food at home. Growing your own fruits and vegetables is an affordable way to eat healthy!

How to Wash and Prepare Spinach

Chris from the YouTube channel 'foodfaq' provided this wonderful video on how to properly wash and prepare spinach. At the end he also gives an awesome tip on how to bring life back to your spinach if you have some sitting in your refrigerator that has started to wilt.

How to Trim Green Beans

This short video shows how to easily trim green beans. This really only takes a few seconds to do and is a necessary step prior to cooking fresh green beans.

SKILLET-BLISTERED GREEN BEANS

Ingredients:

• 2 t olive oil
  
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 12 ounces trimmed green beans
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 t salt

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add olive oil and swirl to coat.
3. Add crushed red pepper and green beans. Cook for 3 minutes, or until blistered.
4. Add white wine. Cook for 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring often.
5. Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt. Serve.

{Original recipe from Cooking Light Magazine's March 2014 issue.}

Tips About Eggplant

Tiffany Vickers Davis from Cooking Light talks about ways to prepare and cook eggplant and how to steer clear of ending up with a bitter and/or mushy dish in the video below.

Eggplant is a very diet-friendly plant at just 38 calories per one cup and it is extremely versatile. Though originally most popular in Mediterranean and Asian cultures, eggplant can be incorporated into just about every type of food culture on the planet. It can be baked, cooked, broiled, grilled, fried, added to soup, or even stuffed with meat, cheese, or other vegetables.

It is a great source of soluble fiber which helps keep your digestive tract and cardiovascular system healthy. Just one cup of eggplant is about ten percent of your daily recommended requirement for fiber. It also contains a myriad of nutrients including but not limited to potassium, iron, zinc, and B-vitamins which all help keep your heart, muscles, skin, and nervous system healthy as well as helping control your metabolism.

Eggplant, like other naturally blue and purple foods, are full of anthocyanins which are plant-based nutrients that are antioxidants that actually help protect the body's cells from damage from free radicals.

When purchasing an eggplant, it should have glossy, bright purple skin and be firm and heavy. Some species may even be light purple or white. Watch out for brown streaks and wrinkled skin as these are signs that the eggplant is no longer ripe.

How To Cut An Onion Fast

A great video from Weelicious where she shows us how to easily chop an onion. Comes in handy when you're bawling your eyes out!

Brussel Sprouts 101 - How To Buy, Store, Prep and Cook Brussel Sprouts

Dani Spies shows us what to look for when purchasing brussel sprouts as well as how we should store them for maximum freshness and how to wash them. She also provides us with a super simple yet tasty recipe to follow towards the end. Brussel sprouts get a bum rap and are so under-appreciated...don't knock 'em until you try 'em!

How to Prepare Fennel

Cooking Light shows us what fennel is and how to prepare it for roasted fennel wedges or cutting it up fresh for a recipe or salad. The stalks are very tough so besides using them to lightly flavor a soup - they have to be removed before serving - they can basically just be thrown away (or composted for us green-friendly peeps). But the fawns can be used to beautifully garnish a finished dish!

CREAMY PENNE PASTA

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (16 oz.) box of organic, whole wheat penne pasta
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (12 oz.) package of organic, nitrate-free, GMO-free Italian Style chicken/turkey sausage (optional), chopped
• 12 oz. plain Greek yogurt
• 4 oz. raw goat cheddar, shredded
• Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Several leaves of kale torn into tiny pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a large pot with water for the pasta. Place on the stove, on high, adding a few dashes of sea salt. Cook pasta "al dente" according to time listed on the package. Drain. Do not rinse. (While waiting for water to heat up and pasta to boil, complete steps 2-5.)

2. In medium skillet, on medium-high heat, add 1/4 cup of water, garlic, onion, squash, zucchini, and a pinch of sea salt and pepper. Cook for about 15-minutes, checking on the water level halfway through - add another 1/4 cup of water if pan is getting too dry. Vegetables will become very soft. 

3. Place cooked veggies into a blender or food processor and purée until it resembles a creamy texture (about 1-2 minutes). 

4. Return pan to stove. Add a drizzle of olive oil and place chopped sausage in to sauté for 3-5 minutes. 

5. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, shredded cheese, and kale. Pour puréed veggies into yogurt mixture and mix well. Pour in your sautéed sausage and mix well. 

6. Serve over penne pasta.

How to Cut, Julienne, and Dice Yellow Squash

Several ways are shown on how to cut up a yellow squash.

How to Julienne and Dice Zucchini

Ryan shows us how to, both, do a Julienne cut and how to dice a zucchini. Always cut the very root-ends off your zucchini, and of course don't forget to wash your vegetables prior to cutting.

How To Chop and Dice an Onion

This video is done by Jamie Oliver and he cuts it pretty quickly - for newbies, just follow the same directions but it's okay to go at a slower pace. It helps that his knife is of good quality and very sharp!

How to Cut and Deseed a Spaghetti Squash

Healthy Snack Ideas: Cucumber Slices and Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

Cucumbers are one of the lowest calorie gourds you can snack on when compared to most other fruits and vegetables. Combine with other healthy snack items like carrots, celery, bell peppers, and even tomatoes, along with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce (click here) makes an amazing, delicious, and fulfilling snack!

Sliced cucumbers with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

How to Slice Cucumbers

Deseeding A Cucumber