Most of you have heard about super foods. These super foods are classified as being rich in vitamins, nutrients and/or minerals that are believed by nutritionists to forestall disease, promote longevity and good health. High on the list of super foods are:

Carrots
Broccoli
Spinach
Chili peppers
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Garlic
Oats
Beans
Green Tea
Lots of fruits: Bananas, Strawberries, Papaya, Pineapple, Mango, Citrus Fruits, Apricots
Salmon

What is the best way to incorporate super foods into your diet?

Grow your own, of course. Vegetable gardens are in vogue in today’s health-conscious society. It’s estimated that 50 percent of American families have vegetable gardens. It’s easy to grow vegetables and herbs. Use an unused space in your backyard or side yard. If space is limited, try a container vegetable garden, a raised bed garden, a window box garden, a vertical vegetable garden, or run vines up trellises. You might even mix vegetable plants in with your existing landscaping.

Even if you’ve never planted a vegetable garden before, you don’t have much to lose by giving it a try. With the abundance of free information available to you over the Internet, there is no reason anyone cannot do it.

Benefits of vegetable gardens:

Stretching the food budget means you have more money left over to do other things.

Your vegetable garden is the ultimate source of FRESH vegetables (you can’t get any fresher than to harvest them yourself!)

Assurance of getting the highest nutritional content possible from every harvest. That’s not always the case with store-bought produce=Better health plus peace of mind!

You know exactly what fertilizers or pesticides were used and the condition of the soil in which the vegetables were grown.

You get bragging rights. I’ve seen grown men proud as a peacock about the size of the vegetables they grew. You could even enter your vegetables in contests and displays, such as at the county fair.

Vegetable gardens pay lifelong dividends in better health.

Take up a complimentary (and potentially lucrative) hobby: food photography.

Promote family togetherness when you get the whole gang involved in planting, harvesting and food preparation of vegetables, fruits and herbs.

Helps you lose weight two ways: 1) The extra exercise and 2) Vegetables are lower in calories than junk food!

It’s a fun, healthy hobby that gives back many times more than what you put into it.

Vegetables and herbs are not just healthy for you, they can also be decorative and ornamental.

I don’t know why working in the soil promotes a sense of serenity and peacefulness, but any gardener will tell you it does.

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