So let’s talk about functional gardens for nutrition and fitness. What do I mean by functional? A functional garden is a garden that has easy access and provides produce for home use. In traditional terms it was a veggies/ fruit garden that used to be beautifully laid out to be visually appealing from the kitchen window. For me I am merely interested in the convenience of fresh produce and minimal time spent pottering around!
When planning a functional garden you need to take into consideration the season. Not all plants and fruits will grow all year around. Use veggies, herbs and fruit that you typically use in your day to day cooking. Some ideas for winter include spinach, leek, garlic, lettuce all of which are stable ingredients in every day dishes. Sweet potato is a great low GI starch that will grow almost all year round. Summer veggies may include : basil, blueberries, capsicum, chilli, corn, egg plant. I have to warn you though when planting corn you need a larger space bigger than a single veggie garden, you need a field! Lol
I have to tell you a story when I was younger by grandmother who was born in Ecuador South America had a green thumb. Our family home looked like it was situated in the Amazon jungle in the middle of Sydney. We had vine leaves, growing up the fence walls, veggie patches in the front and back yard. We had strawberries growing from hanging pot plants on the front patio. Heck we had two massive banana trees, fig tree and mango tree… we had the works!
One year my grandmother decided she wanted to grow corn along the side passage of the house. In South American dishes corn is a staple and used in almost everything in the form of flour, corn on the cob, even to make cakes. Did you know that corn grows like wild fire??
As a kid I remember helping plant the corn seeds, and in my mind what seems like only a few weeks later we had a field of corn!!! I woke up one summers day looked out my bed room window and all I saw was green stalks and lovely corns. What an experience. One downfall though was we were eating corn all summer, but the end we couldn’t even give the stuff away.
Gardening in our house hold was full of gossip too, I remember my grandmother gossiping about neighbors for stealing our bananas that hung over the fence. On a separate occasion they stole our giant pumpkin which was planted in our garden but grew through the holes in the wooden palling fence. My grandmother had the idea to share the pumpkin with the neighbors when it was good to pick, due to it resting on their property. But by the time we knew it they had already picked it! Hahahaha Needless to say they weren’t the favorite neighbors! Your home garden will not only provide better nutrition but may also create wonderful memories for you and your children.
In terms of nutrition a functional kitchen garden has loads of benefits. Using veggies and fruit that are freshly picked and used in cooking or to eat immediately provides the highest amount of nutrients, antioxidants and active enzymes. The food is better quality higher levels of B-vitamins, beta carotine and vit C and often tastes a lot better because of this. When fruits and veggies are picked and transported over time due to air and light exposure ( like most super market stock) vitamin C , Vitamin B and folic acid levels reduce.
Having fresh produce will last longer and be more cost effective reducing food waste and helping the environment. It’s also a cheap way of eating organic foods. The benefits being no herbicide or pesticides are used for growing. The evidence is not conclusive on the benefits of eating organic foods however trying to reduce chemical load on our system is always a good idea where possible for general health. Please note that a functional garden will only be "organic" if NO fertilizers and chemicals are used. Make sure when using this types of products before eating produce you thoroughly wash the fruit/vegetable.
The best fruits to grow are strawberries, rock melon, water melon and grapes because you will get fruit within 6mth to 1 year so you can start reaping the benefits from your handy work quickly.
My top 10 nutritious vegetables that can be grown in a functional garden are:
1. spinach is easy to grow packed full of iron, magnesium, vit c and folate.
2. Chilli the red pigmentation in the chilli can stimulate metabolism and high in Vit C
3. Garlic it’s a natural immune booster and good for digestive health
4. Tomato high in lycopene. It’s an antioxidant that is heart protective
5. capsicum natural metabolism booster and high in Vit C
6. Brussels sprouts high in antioxidant zeaxanthin which is good for reducing retinal damage protecting the eyes from macular degeneration
7. Broccoli flavonoids like beta-carotene cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Studies have shown that these compounds by modifying positive signalling at molecular receptor levels help protect from prostate, colon, urinary bladder, pancreatic, and breast cancers.
8. Onion high in vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium. Helps with blood sugar control and appetite regulation
9. Beetroot high in folate, iron, potassium and Vit C great for womens health particularly during pregenancy. 10. Alfafa Sprouts Has high sapoinin content which protects the immune system
Get those garden gloves out and start digging!
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