Today in Our Gardens

 Today in Our Garden

2024

This post was a long time in coming...I am proud to announce that I have completed my graduate coursework and now have a Master's in Applied Nutrition! What better a way to celebrate than to walk around outdoors with my camera! 

• Hummingbirds are still in NJ visiting our feeders and their favorite blooms, including cannas and salvias. 
• The best fruits we grew this year were two varieties of figs and Petit Moineau heirloom tomatoes.
  

It was great to discover a robust and healthy monarch caterpillar in Harry's meadow!! This was the first one we've seen all season. My guess is the reduction in insects could be from people's use of systemic pesticides and insect spraying. Some insect reduction could be from our hungry Mt Laurel lizards! Lizzy's like bugs but wouldn't eat monarch larva, since monarchs are poisonous.

The incredible passion vines have taken over our vegetable garden! Fruits looking like limes are now dangling all over the place.

We missed the veggie market on Saturday, but enjoyed a walk around the Burlington County Agricultural Center's community garden plots. The above pollinator photo was taken in their herb garden located near their farmhouse where they do the cooking demos.

Hopefully, my next post will be sooner rather than later!

Best for good health and happiness,

Diana 

Blog post and photos Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Prevent Youth Type 2 Diabetes

An Updated Systematic Review with Implications for the School Nurse and Registered Dietitian

15-minute presentation

by Diana Wind, MS, RDN

South Jersey is Beautiful

 

 Barnegat Lighthouse

Those of you who knew Junetta, may remember that one of Mom's favorite places was Long Beach Island (LBI); especially, Barnegat Lighthouse. We had not gone since we took her there on her birthday a long time ago (before Covid) when she was still with us. Mom has been gone 4 years already. RIP mom...We always think of her when we see 'ol Barney!

Harry and I went to the shore, with our cameras, in search of seals that were reported in the news to be all along the NJ coastline. There have been more sightings early this year due to the warmer weather. Young seal pups migrate to warmer waters from New England.

Well, we did not see any seals. It didn't matter. The weather was so nice; it felt so good to get outdoors! A LBI resident told us that they only had one seal sighting on the island. I'm thinking that it may be the one that was found entangled in plastic in Beach Haven. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center rescued the sickly pup last month. The problem of plastic is another story. If we had seen any seals of course, we would have kept a respectable distance of at least 100 feet per NOAA recommendations.

Having similar color tones as in seals, we watched other shore life that at first we thought were ducks. We're not bird experts, but they look like Brant - small sized geese that breed in Canada and overwinter along the New Jersey and New York coastlines. As with many species, they are in decline. Caring for the environment and our waterways has never been more important.

We watched the vegetarian Brant feeding on sea grasses and greens along the moss-covered rocks. 

Brant

Related Links

Atlantic Brant Research

Audubon Bird Guide - Brant

Seal and Sea Lion Week

Barnegat Bay Partnership

 
 Blog Post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

RD Approved Grazing Board! @eatrightpro @eatrightnj #haveaplant #gardencuizine

Best Wishes for a 

Healthy and Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm proud to be featured in a recent Every Day Health article (link below) with my take on an RD approved Grazing Board. Grazing boards are spin offs of charcuterie appetizer boards.

Grazing boards (also called graze boards) feature a selection of nibbles that can be served to your family or guests before the main course. They can also be served after a main course for visiting family or friends. 

This New Years, RD approved, grazing board features sustainable, protein-packed, legumes, namely black-eyed peas - called Hoppin' John. Black-eyed peas bring good health, joy, good luck and peace, which we all sure need more of in this world.

Ingredients for Diana Wind's dietitian approved - healthy grazing board:

• Hoppin' John: black-eyed peas (also known as pulses or legumes) - precooked and ready to heat and serve
  
• Fruit cups (we used strawberries, blueberries with plain Greek yogurt)
• Yogurt or whipped cream for the fruit dip (Cinnamon Bionico sauce is always a winner too! Recipe included below)
  
• Basket or bowl of whole fruits: bananas, apples, clementines, grapes (and/or other favorite fruits)
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks (and/or any other veggies you want to use; including, but not limited to: red bell pepper strips, cucumbers, radishes and cherry tomatoes)
• Hummus dip for the veggies (we used store bought)
  
• Cheddar cheese (or any of your favorite cheese, with some cut into star shapes)
  
• Jalapeno Pepper Jack cheese (cut into star shapes)
  
• Wholegrain crackers
• Spanikopita (spinach & feta) wedges - store bought; ready to heat and serve
  
• Pistachios (or any of your favorite nuts)

Putting it all together

This is another GardenCuizine freestyle recipe, meaning that you control the portions based on how many people you plan to serve. Simple and easy!

Start with selecting a large serving board, such as a large cutting board, mirror, or tray. We happened to have a big blue plastic tray that worked perfectly.

Fancy martini or sangria glasses and short decorative glasses make good serving containers for your vitamin-rich fruits and veggies! A twisted star party necklace on the tray adds to the design.

A side fruit bowl or basket filled with bananas, apples and clementines adds even more nutrition for you and your guests. No need for junk foods at this party! 

Keep leftover Hoppin' John in your refrigerator so that you will have plenty to enjoy as a meal another time over quinoa or brown rice.

Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year! 

Related Links

RD Approved Grazing Boards - Check out #8

GardenCuizine Hoppin' John recipe 

GardenCuizine Cinnamon Bionico Sauce recipe 

Looking Differently at Charcuterie 

How Beans Contribute to Sustainable Nutrition

Photo and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Sweet 'n Spicy Maple Salmon

What's for Dinner Tonight?

For deciding on what's for dinner, start with choosing the protein. Last night we selected fish, salmon. We keep our fish frozen. Once we decided on having salmon, we pulled it out of the freezer to thaw. After a short period on the counter, for food safety, we put it on a plate and into the refrigerator while we decided on the rest of the dinner side dishes. 

As you can see in the picture, we served the baked sweet 'n spicy maple glazed salmon with a starch and a vegetable to balance the meal. The frozen green beans took less than 5 minutes to saute with fresh garlic and butter, and the rice pilaf was leftover, so we just had to heat and serve.

Our oven's broiler is not working right so we decided to bake the salmon. Your next decision after deciding on the cooking method is how to season the salmon. I decided on using hot pepper jelly. We had pepper jelly in jars made from this summer. Hot pepper jelly isn't really that hot; it adds just the right amount of sweet 'n spicy flavor to just about any food from corn bread to fish!

This is a GardenCuizine freestyle recipe, meaning that you don't really need to measure the ingredients. You can use any amount desired of the ingredients to your liking.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F

You'll need a baking dish with a cover

Ingredients

• Farm raised Salmon fillet (thawed)
  
• 1/3 cup, or less, hot pepper jelly (preferably homemade) 
• 1 Tblsp pure maple syrup
  
• pinch Fresh ground black pepper
• pinch Salt 
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder 
• chopped fresh or dried parsley
• 1/3 cup or less water
  

Putting it all together

1. Combine pepper jelly and seasonings
2. Place salmon in baking dish; spread pepper jelly spice blend over salmon
3. Add water to bottom of baking dish (do not cover the fish in water)
   
4. Bake 15 minutes covered
5. uncover and bake another 15 min or until done
   
6. Serve with a starch and a vegetable, such as brown rice and green beans.

Enjoy! 

GardenCuizine Nutrition data 3 oz Salmon: Calories 175, Carbs 0, Fiber 0, Protein 19g, Vitamin B12 2.4 mcg (99% DV), Healthy Omega-3 fatty acids 2.2g (Wow! 201% DV)

 Photos and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

FDA Investigation of Lead in Cinnamon Apple Sauce Continues

Lead poisoning can happen in adults and children. Eating lead can make you or your kids sick. Symptoms include headaches, belly pain, vomiting, anemia and more. 

Don't let anyone eat these three brands of Cinnamon Applesauce pouches:

1. WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée. The pouches were distributed nationwide online and at retail stores.
2. Schnucks brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety pack
3. Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches

If you see any of these products in a store >>> Snap a photo of it and notify the FDA. If your child ate some or is sick, consult your Pediatrician.

Note: I am no longer posting on Twitter since it became X. You can find me on Instagram, which is a family friendly, safer site for the public and healthcare professionals.

Related Links

FDA Investigation

Ask Your Doctor About a Child Lead Test

Testing Children for Lead Poisoning 

Whitesbog Blueberry History

Historic Whitesbog 

We both recently had the pleasure of going on a photography outing to support the New Jersey Pinelands with Richard Lewis, a fine art landscape photographer. After spending a day with him on a fun group photography tour at one of our favorite parts of the NJ Pinelands, Franklin Parker Preserves, I started following Richard on social media. 

Soon after, Richard posted some amazing autumn photographs of sunrise and a red rainbow at a place called Whitesbog. How is it that we've lived in South Jersey all our lives and never visited Whitesbog? Thanks to Richard's post we found our way to Whitesbog with our cameras. The historic 1857 farm and village is located in Browns Mills NJ. Whitesbog is in part of the Brendan T. Byrne state forest.

It was here at Whitesbog that Ms Elizabeth Coleman White showed the world that blueberries could be cultivated. Ms White's very interesting skill set included nursing, agricultural research and hands on experience in both cranberry and blueberry farming.

I was saddened, but not surprised, to read that when Ms White's Father died, in his will, he did not make her President of his company even though she contributed so much to expand the business for their family. The Whitesbog plantation grew from 600 to 3,000 acres.

The legacy of this special area is cared for by the Whitesbog Preservation Trust who is open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset. You can find more information and maps to several walking trails on their website (link below). The landscape is very peaceful and beautiful as you can see from my photos shown. We look forward to visiting again soon!

References and Related Links

Whitesbog

NJ Women's History 

History of Blueberries

Fall at Whitesbog in the NJ Pine Barrens

Blog post and photographs Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Secondary Research Study of Prediabetes in Adolescents and Sugary Drinks...

Easy steps to make a Veggie Quesadilla

What Are "Pulses?" #haveaplant #gardencuizine

#Haveaplant