Making the Best of Your Garden Harvest? Quick Veggie Pasta Recipe | Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping Twin Cities

Are you making the best of the fruits, or vegetables, of your garden labor?  Backyard gardens are fun and promote clean eating, if you can put in the work ahead of time.  Here's a peak at some backyard gardens of our own FXB Andover members:

Here is a simple veggie pasta which is super quick and easy and full of garden flavor:
Gather a variety of vegetables, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, peppers, etc.  If you are growing herbs, add some of those as well, oregano and basil work excellent with pasta.  We also added some prepared pesto sauce and garlic to this mixture.  Have basil in your garden... you can make your own fresh pesto!

Add to hot pan with coconut or canola oil on medium to high, stirring constantly.  A sprinkling of Parmesan was also added to the pan.

After heating until tender, add the vegetables over whole wheat pasta and you have a quick, healthy and fulfilling meal!  So, if you have a lot of vegetables from your garden to use up... make this for your family tonight!

Eating A "Rainbow" of Foods| Twin Cities Kickboxing Gym

So, we've discussed "eating clean." Now, let's take a look at another way of thinking about healthy eating and what you put on your plate.  Are you eating a "rainbow" of foods?

The idea behind "eating a rainbow" means visually stimulating your taste buds with a variety of naturally colored foods, which are packed with many different vitamins and minerals.

Here's a quick guide to the colors of foods and what benefits they contain:

Greens:
potassium, folate, fiber, vitamin A, E and C.

Reds/oranges:
Vitamin A, beta-carotene, and lutein, for healthy vision.

Browns/purples/blues:
Flavonoids, which have been found to improve brain function and blow flow.

Yellows:
Think healthy fats, such as almonds, fish, such as salmon and tuna.  Healthy fats aid in the absorption of vitamins in the body.

Thinking in terms of "eating a rainbow" may be just another way for you to ensure you are getting a plenitude of vitamin and nutrient-packed foods.