By Dianne Gebhardt-French
SmartHealthToday
Fresh local vegetables and fruits are Lori Purtell’s prescription for good health. Start by shopping at farmers markets, suggested Purtell, a registered and licensed dietitian at St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
Purtell urges families to make an outing of it: Take the kids, talk to the farmers, and enjoy what all the colors and combinations of fresh vegetables and fruits can mean to your heart and overall health. Farmers are “always interesting,” she added.
Why we need fresh produce
It’s important for heart patients – and all the rest of us – to eat colorful fruits and vegetables. Purtell explained, “they say ‘eat the rainbow,’ that’s because the more colorful the leaf, the more nutrients. The body more easily absorbs the vitamins and nutrients from food than it does from supplements and vitamin capsules.”
Turn your meal planning upside down: Make meat the side dish.
“At every meal take up the rest of the plate with fruits and vegetables,” said Purtell.
Kids like color, make it pretty.
“The thing about veggies is that they are packed with vitamins and minerals, they are full of water and they’ll fill you up.”
When fresh isn’t an option, choose frozen. Purtell said vegetables hold onto more nutrients when they are frozen than when they endure shipping from destinations as far away as Chile.
Create a produce plan
Before you go shopping, make the menu for the week and make sure the fruits and vegetables are front and center – not an afterthought. Then make it as convenient as possible to snack on the right foods.
On a busy day, put a tray of pre-cut vegetables on the counter and let the kids dip carrots or celery sticks in the cup of dressing. They are still getting the vitamins and fiber and they may stay out of the pantry searching for anything that will just fill them up.
“Diet and weight loss go hand in hand,” said Purtell. To control your weight, eat your veggies. And eat local when you can.
Advice into action
To do that, Purtell points to the Central Ohio River Valley Local Food Guide for a list of farmers markets in Kentucky.
They include:
Boone County, 1961 Burlington Pike (adjacent to Boone County Extension)
• Daily – 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Memorial Day thru Labor Day, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May and October
boonecountyfarmersmarket.org
Highland Heights, Campbell County, 3504 Alexandria Pike
• Tuesdays – 3 p.m.-6 p.m. May thru October
ky.foodmarketmaker.com Fort Thomas, S. Fort Thomas Rd and River Ave.
Fort Thomas, S. Fort Thomas Rd. and River Ave.
• Wednesdays & Fridays – 3 p.m.-7 p.m. May thru October
Fort Thomas Farmers Market Facebook Page
Dixie (Accepts WIC), 116 Commonwealth Ave. (Lot of Erlanger Baptist Church)
• Thursdays – 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Now through Oct. 29
localharvest.org
Alexandria – various locations (click the link for more details)
• Fridays – 3 p.m.-6 p.m. May thru October
alexandria.gov
Covington (Accepts WIC/SNAP), Third and Court Street
• Saturdays – 9 a.m.-1 p.m. May thru October
Covington Farmers Market Facebook Page
SmartHealthToday is a service of St. Elizabeth Healthcare.