Tag Archives: vegetables

Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening for Healthy Veggies

by Rachel Berman RD, Director of Nutrition, CalorieCount.com

Growing your own food sounds very overwhelming but you can do it easily with very little space, even in an urban environment. March is also the perfect time to start preparing your own garden to grow plants and herbs for the spring and summer months ahead. As if you need reasons why, it ensures you have fresh produce on hand, is a great way to teach your children about eating healthy, can help you save money, plus studies show that gardening relieves stress! From an environmental standpoint, you can help decrease pollution by growing without the use of pesticides and reduce the need for trucks that transport food all over the country. Finally, what could taste more delicious than a plant that you grow and pluck at its peak of ripeness just steps away from your kitchen door?

Contain your garden

Many people in urban environments do not have a backyard let alone a square foot of land to grow plants. By practicing ‘container gardening’, basically growing in any sort of container that can hold soil, plants and drain water, you can bring your garden to a patio, or even indoors as long as there is plenty of sunshine. Check out this comprehensive guide to how to get started with container gardening and what fruits, vegetables, and herbs are easiest to grow.
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Posted on March 4, 2026 by Calorie_Count

Chobani Blood Orange Smoothie Perfect for Rising and Shining

There are stories that Elvis Presley would eat one food, in particular meatloaf, for weeks. It would be the only thing he’d eat. I tend to get in to similar ruts with breakfast. It will be three months of nothing but scrambled eggs and toast. And then I’ll switch to months and months of Cheerios, or yogurt with granola. Last week, it was time for a change, and I rediscovered my blender.

Smoothies are a perfect breakfast. They are fast, simple, and can give you several full servings of fruits and vegetables in a glass. Drink it on the go and you can’t complain about not having time for breakfast!

I assessed the smoothie-making ingredients I had on hand… fresh baby spinach, an avocado, a pint of blueberries, bananas, ice, and Chobani Greek yogurt. I had a few flavors to choose from (because we’re rarely without) and I opted for the brand new blood orange. I hadn’t yet tried it, and figured this was a perfect opportunity to add a burst of sweetness to my smoothie. The color, when all stirred and combined, wasn’t as bold as I’d expected (I mean, have you seen the raspberry Chobani? Pop!), but the flavor was perfect. (more…)

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Natalie K

7 Sneaky Foods for Heart Health

Written by Nicole German, RD for Diet-Blog.com

When you think about heart healthy foods, what comes to mind? Nuts, salmon, olive oil, and whole grains are the well-known foods for heart health. But, what about those lesser known foods that keep the heart pumping strong?

Dried Fruits: Some dried fruits like prunes contain a cocktail of phenol antioxidants that work together to prevent cell damage. An added bonus is that dried fruits contain good sources of fiber which can help to lower cholesterol levels and protect the heart.

Blueberries: We know blueberries as the anti-aging fruit—the fruit that will help keep the mind strong. Yet, blueberries protect the entire body. Studies show that eating at least one cup per day can improve cholesterol levels and lower triglycerides. Most interestingly, blueberries can actually improve the quality of the blood due to the combination of antioxidants they contain.

Grapes: Not a red wine drinker? Don’t worry; you can still get health benefits from eating the whole fruit. Grapes have a dual function: they are anti-inflammatory and have high antioxidant power. Grapes are most notable for their ability to lower blood pressure as they may help to dilate blood vessel walls and prevent cell build-up within the walls. (more…)

Posted on February 2, 2026 by GuestBlogger

New Release “Speedy Sneaky Chef” is Sending the Wrong Message to Kids

Missy Chase Lapine’s The Speedy Sneaky Chef released this morning full of ideas on how to sneak more fruit and vegetables into family dishes to increase the nutritional quality of their meals. We have to ask though – is sneaking in the good-for-you foods sending the right message to your kids about healthy eating?

In her 2026 book The Sneaky Chef, Lapine inspired parents to “sneak” fruit and vegetables into their children’s meals by adding fruit or vegetable purees into unexpected dishes, like spinach puree to a pan of brownies. Her latest book offers readers 75 all-new healthy recipes that they can prepare, relying on convenience foods like jarred tomato sauce, boxed macaroni and cheese and prepared pancake mixes.

While adding fruits and vegetables to packaged foods will inarguably up their nutritional ante, there are pros and cons to relying on bags, boxes and jars to get dinner on the table. Though Lapine recommends only the highest quality products, even some natural and organic options, the reality of today’s economic times is that many families will opt for lower-priced packaged foods, many of which contain artificial dyes, high-fructose corn syrup and other highly processed ingredients with little to no nutritional value..

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Posted on December 27, 2025 by Maris

Empty Calories Comic: Vegetarian Diet Weight Gain

See more Empty Calories right here in the blog each week, or receive one each month when you subscribe to our free newsletter.

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Posted on December 9, 2025 by Health Buzz

Congress Claims Pizza is an Acceptable Vegetable for Our Kids

When I helped the first graders at my son’s school with their food group assignment recently, I was amazed at how many were confused about where to place types of food. So many didn’t know what a green bean was, or what strawberries were. Most were completely unaware that fish was a “meat.” It was disheartening and a good glimpse at the nutrition blunders our kids deal with. After hearing this morning’s news, things are going to get much more difficult. According to Congress, pizza will now be placed in the vegetable category.

Surely, I’m not alone in the jaw-drop response to this news. I re-read it just to make sure I was getting this right. But in clear print, the fact that school lunch pizzas contain tomato paste allows Congress to mark it as a vegetable, therefore keeping it on the menu multiple times a month in schools all over the country.

A congressional committee is responsible for this and other ridiculous staples being allowed to stay on our kids’ menus. As a fightback against the Obama administration’s proposal to make school lunches better and healthier for our kids, a bill was released late Monday entailing all the guidelines. (more…)

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Lacy

Potatoes are the Cheapest and Healthiest Vegetable

One of the problems with the American diet seems to be that fresh, nutritious produce is unaffordable or not easily accessible to many segments of the population. However, research presented recently at the American Dietetic Association’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo demonstrates that one of the best nutritional values in the produce department, providing significantly better nutritional value per dollar than most other raw vegetables, is one that is easily accessible, practical, and loved by most: The white potato. Per serving, white potatoes were the largest and most affordable source of potassium of any vegetable or fruit.

Dr. Adam Drewnowski and colleagues from the University of Washington complied nutrient data from the USDA Food and Nutrition Database for Dietary Studies with the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion national food prices database. They found that potatoes were the least expensive source of dietary potassium, a nutrient identified by the 2026 Dietary Guidelines as lacking in the American diet. The cost of potassium-rich white potatoes was half that of most other vegetables.

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Posted on November 15, 2025 by GuestBlogger

Get Out of Your Veggie Comfort Zone with Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Fresh Vegetables

Learning how to cook can be intimidating, but learning how to cook when you’re trying to lose weight can seem impossible. Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Fresh Vegetables is an approachable, easy to read book that instructs readers how to peel, prepare and preserve your favorite produce.

Co-authors Arnold Weislo and Annabelle Delaval decided to write the book after a trip to their town market where Weislo watched his friend, an excellent cook, choose vegetables for a pasta dish that he would prepare.

“When I saw him choose the vegetables while I was buying pasta, it bugged me slightly. And I wanted to do like him: be able to choose vegetables and most of all, be able to cook them afterwards,” said Weislo.

With plenty of photographs to help guide readers through the steps of cooking with popular vegetables, the book addresses nutritional qualities, health benefits, peak seasonal information and recipes, like Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart, for 20 vegetables.

Not only does the book offer general tips for preparing fruits and vegetables, but it provides insight on how to clean, cut and prepare some of the trickiest types of produce. (more…)

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Maris

How to Properly Blanch Vegetables

By Shubhra Krishan for Care2.com

Blanching is a classic cooking technique that takes the raw edge off veggies but preserves the vitamins and the taste. Blanching gives vegetables a lovely fresh and vibrant color. And it’s easy! You basically cook vegetables in boiling water very briefly; but there is an art to it, and it takes time to perfect. Here is how to do it right:

Prepare: Slice the vegetables julienne style, like matchsticks. Dice or shell as needed.

Boil: In fast-boiling salted water, tip the veggies one by one, starting from the light colored ones to the darkest. Leave them in for just 45 to 60 seconds, just until they brighten. Scoop them out, quickly, with a large slotted spoon.

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Posted on October 27, 2025 by GuestBlogger

Infuse Your Favorite Fall Recipes with Seasonal Vegetables

Fall weather typically means cooler temperatures and heartier meals. However, eating heartier doesn’t have to mean you are eating foods that are unhealthy. You can easily use seasonal vegetables that are available this fall to add flavor and nutrition to your traditional fall recipes.

Vegetables that are available during the fall season include Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli, potatoes and turnips. For fruits, be on the look out for apples, dates, pears, kiwi and tangerines. Simply putting some of these items on your grocery list can help inspire you to infuse them into your meals. Since these items are at their peak during the fall season, you can get them at a good price and while they are at their freshest.

Below are a few ideas that incorporate seasonal produce with your everyday fall favorites.

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Posted on October 20, 2025 by Descygna

Health Benefits of Beets

A few weeks ago, I decided to dust off my juicer that has been sitting in the back of my pantry for years. It was one of those things, you know, out of sight out of mind. There are positives and negatives to juicing… but to my mind, as long as you don’t look at it as replacing your fruit and vegetable servings, you are able to get much more variety and many more nutrients than most people would otherwise.

One vegetable that I just don’t incorporate into my diet is beets. For most of my life they have been one of the few foods that I have had an aversion to. Later in life, I started to occasionally put them on my salads when hitting a restaurant salad bar, but otherwise they are absent from my meals. Until now. (more…)

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Jason