Container Vegetables

With continuing recalls of food due to cyclospora cayetanensis and salmonella, now’s a great time to consider container vegetables. You don’t have to be an avid gardener or have tons of space to grow vegetables. If you have a patio, porch, deck, yard, flowerbed, or sunny room in your home, you can grow a number of herbs and vegetables. Growing your own gives you the ability to make sure contaminants don’t reach your food.

arugula in water in a black speckled roaster

All you need are pots or planters, soil, and plants or seeds. Pots and planters are often available for free through community gifting groups or at low cost from thrift stores and flea markets. Soil can be purchased from dollar stores, hardware stores, big box retailers, and garden centers. Many of these will deliver to your porch allowing you to avoid carrying heavy bags up steps.

Plants or seeds may be available from gifting groups, neighbors, hardware stores, big box retailers, and garden centers. To choose the most appropriate plants for your space, time of year, and growing zone, visit a seed company website and search by container vegetables then look for recommendations for your growing zone.

If you think you’ll be limited to tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. You can grow those in containers, but you can also grow lettuce, kale, arugula, celery, scallions, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, baby okra, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and corn. And that’s not all, radishes, potatoes, and garlic are possible, even inside.

I gardened with my grandmother as a child and once when my children were little. In 2020 when I learned how fragile our supply chain was, I started gardening again. Currently in my garden are cucumbers, peppers, green beans, bok choi, and the end of romaine lettuce and arugula for the season. My blackberry bush is beginning to flower a second time, and I have a blueberry bush in a pot on my back porch.

That means I have a lot of a few things to consume. If you’re used to grocery store produce, you may not be familiar with seasonal substitutions. Yesterday, I used some of my abundance of cucumbers to make gluten-free muffins. They’re not that different from zucchini or kiwi muffins. I just substituted what’s in season from my garden and changed the flavor profile a little.

This is how I grew up eating so it’s not a stretch to try a new way to prepare something I might otherwise tire of. With seasonal substitutions you get the full flavor of fresh vegetables or fruit that haven’t been trucked around plus variety of taste and texture.

As some plants become prolific, you’ll understand why great-grandmothers made pickles, jam or jelly, tomato juice, cider, and canned vegetables and why many people dry or freeze food. Once you’ve invested the labor to plant, water, and weed, you don’t want anything to go to waste.

But you don’t have to go big to avoid recalled foods. A planter of lettuce may give you the salad base you’re missing. A pot of jalapeno peppers can bring the heat you miss to your nachos. Once you’ve made the initial investment, you will most likely save money as well.

I’m not happy with the lack of food safety we’re currently experiencing. But it is a reality. Growing container vegetables and fruit is a way to continue to enjoy fresh produce with an added layer of safety. Now’s a great time to try it out!

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Get Those Chips Off Your Shoulder

Get those chips off your shoulder and out of your pantry. Yes, I’m talking to me. I love a salty, crunchy snack. And I know that chips are a lot of calories that don’t add significant nutrition. In summer, I’ve sometimes struggled to get enough salt without processed foods. This summer, I’ve changed my tactics.

To be fair, I might have kept chips as a guilty pleasure but I had to reconsider because my system can’t tolerate sunflower or palm oil and olive oil chips cost $10 a bag. But I still want crunch and some salt after I garden in the mornings.

Porcelain colander filled with cucumbers sitting on dark wood table with dill lying beside it.

The garden brought me a solution – an abundance of cucumbers. I’ve given away a few and considered pickles. But fermented pickles could bring a histamine issue. After some thought, I peeled, sliced, and salted a couple. This resulted in a delightfully crispy, refreshing cucumber snacks.

These will last a couple of days in the refrigerator. And they stay crisp enough to use as a holder for soft cheese eliminating the need for packaged crackers. Top the cheese with herbs and you’ve got an easy appetizer. Or, add a crunchy layer to your caprese salad. They’re also delicious with tzatziki and hummus.

When I mentioned cucumber crisps to my sister, she pointed me to watermelon fries. What, you may ask, are watermelon fries? Well, first, they’re not fried. They’re just watermelon slices shaped like fries, placed in the freezer for 30 minutes then dusted with sea salt flakes and chili powder if desired.

These are a great poolside snack. Some people serve them with a dip made from coconut cream, lime, honey, vanilla and salt or drizzle them with dark chocolate to create a unique summer dessert.

If you can do this with watermelon, it stands to reason you can do it with honeydew or cantaloupe. A platter with all three would be a great addition to your summer BBQ as an appetizer, side, or dessert.

There are many pluses to using fruit to add crunch and salt to your diet instead of chips. You skip other chemicals that are added to chips and crackers. You don’t get that old oil taste some chips have. In fact, you skip the seed oils altogether which makes my tummy happy. The kids don’t cover your chair cushions in colored dust that stains everything in its path.

You also eliminate a lot of calories. And add water. Unless you’re allergic, intolerant, or really hate these fruits and vegetables, there’s not a downside to using them to deliver a needed electrolyte (as long as you don’t overdo, of course). And this summer when produce is suspect, it’s great to incorporate things you can peel.

So, lose the frying, the oil, the man-made chemical compounds, the coloring, the flavoring, and the plastics used to package when you get those chips off your shoulder and out of the pantry! You’ll still be able to enjoy a salty crunch!

Deconstruct Your Salad

When lettuce is suspect, deconstruct your salad. If you don’t have access to locally grown greens this summer, but love salads and want to avoid cyclosporiasis, a few changes may be necessary.

Last week, a friend was bemoaning her inability to eat salad during the current outbreak of cyclosporiasis. She had purchased dried fruit instead. This seemed like an odd choice to me, but her idea of salad is a bit fixed, so it made sense to her to go a whole different direction. But that’s not really necessary.

chopped cucumber, pepper, tomato

Take away the leafy greens and you can still have a salad full of delicious, fresh, veggies, fruit and protein. You can also include quinoa, rice, or pasta. When deciding on ingredients, think of it as a deconstructed salad you’d make if you had a bed of leafy greens to top.

Keep things traditional by using slices of yellow or zucchini squash, carrots, bell pepper, tomato, and cucumber. If desired, add broccoli, red onion, cubed cheese (your choice) or cottage cheese. Top with bacon, sunflower seeds, or raw almonds.

If you want to combine your salad and protein, add boiled egg, grilled chicken, fried chicken, cubed ham, roast beef, pulled pork, or deli meat.

Use broccoli for a green base but instead of adding the traditional bacon and cheese, use raisins, or dried cranberries, and apples plus raw almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds.

Go southwest with a combination of black beans, corn, pico de gallo, and cheese. Add some pizzaz with cilantro and a sour cream dressing.

Combine throwback Thursday with a carrot, raisin, walnut salad. My grandmother served this regularly, but sans walnuts. You may also want to add pineapple.

Keep it simple. Start with a bed of sliced mushrooms. Top with herbs, fresh garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Add a little heat with pepper slices or flakes.  

Lean Mediterranean with chickpeas, olives, tomato, scallions, and dill or chickpeas, black beans, cucumber, onion, garlic, parsley, and mint. Both versions are delicious with quinoa.

Like vibrant color? Make a marinated beet salad with onion, avocado, and edamame.

More in the mood for pastels? Make pear salad with goat cheese and spiced pecans. Who needs greens?

Consider returning to tradition with a caprese salad. Tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil have always played well together.

Finding a way to include fresh vegetables and fruit is important to a healthy diet even as recalls and parasite risks linger. But before you ditch salad made from fresh vegetables, try deconstructing it.

Drink Water. Just Do It!

Drink water. Just Do it! It’s hot. Hotter than hot. You may be losing more fluid than you realize going about your daily routine when your body is trying to cool you down from getting in a hot car or carrying in groceries in hot, humid conditions.

blue background with clear glass of ice and water being poured in

Your body also needs water to produce tears and saliva. You may notice you have less energy or feel grumpy when you don’t stay on top of how much you’re drinking.

People with sore tummies may have an aversion to both food and fluid intake. This can lead to dehydrating more quickly because we get fluids from both.

I’m not opposed to fluids other than water, but I avoid both sugar and sugar substitutes. Not only do I find them distasteful, they don’t satisfy my thirst.

For me to drink water, it needs to be cold. Even if it’s cold outside, I prefer water with ice. If you have an aversion to drinking water, experiment with the temperature. Both of my sons enjoy hot water and many swear by room temperature.

If you’re easily distracted and forget to drink, set a timer or combine drinking with another activity – stretching your legs, walking to the printer, attending a meeting, loading the dishwasher, or doing laundry. Keeping an insulated tumbler handy can also be helpful.

If you don’t like the taste of water, a squeeze of orange, lime, or lemon may help. And there are many flavor packets you can add to make it more palatable. My preference is plain water, but some packaged flavoring may also have needed electrolytes. Be sure to read labels to avoid ingredients your system can’t tolerate.

For those who suffer from chronic or episodic diarrhea, you may be losing both fluids and electrolytes and need to monitor your salt intake as well. Talk to your doctor about the best approach to take.

Caffeinated drinks, some medications, exercise, elevation, and weather can have a significant effect on the amount of water you need. For those who suffer from chronic or episodic diarrhea, you are losing fluids (and electrolytes and may need to monitor your salt intake as well).

Of course, this means there’s no static amount of water needed to stay properly hydrated because every day is different.

Mayo Clinic’s website indicates studies suggest an average healthy adult will get enough water if they ingest about 11.5 cups (92 oz or 2.7 liters) to 15.5 cups (124 oz or 3.7 liters) per day of total fluid. This amount can include food and other liquids.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

If you walk into a convenience store to purchase bottled water, you’ll find 16.9 – 20 oz bottles are common. As a visual reference, you’ll need the equivalent of about 6 of those per day, more if you’re walking a lot, gardening or doing yard work in the heat, spend a lot of time in airplanes, or are living or traveling at a high elevation.

I’ve moved my walking time up two hours and still have to abbreviate the distance just to make it tolerable. This minor walk or 20 minutes in the garden result in sweat rolling down my face and limbs. It takes an equal length of time to cool down and rehydrate once I’m back inside. Can I go longer or do more? Yes, but then it takes longer to recover.

When you’re swimming, you may be less prone to drink because fluid loss is not as obvious. Using a timer or carrying salty snacks can help remind you to drink water when you take a break from the pool.

Getting enough fluids will most likely come down to smart self-management. Play to your weaknesses so they don’t become barriers to getting what you need. If what you try first doesn’t work, try something else.

Through trial and error you can figure out the best way to motivate yourself to drink water. Just do it!

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