FruitsandVeggiesMonday Today!

There they were. Just hanging out, ready to be plucked from their vine. The garden is small, but the vegetables are abundant this year. Eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are in their prime. I am not opposed to buying what I am not growing, but, there is a certain pride in going out to your own garden and harvesting the fruits of your own labor.

or go to the farmers market like I do when that doesn't work out

Supermarket, farmers market, u-pick-it or your own garden, I always try to pick veggies or fruits that are brightest and most enticing in color. Tomatoes and other vine-ripened vegetables should be saturated with color. My carrots should be crisp and not able to be put into the latest yoga position. It should not be that flexible.

But, we are talking best case. Sometimes, I take what I can get. :))

'Tis the season, is it not? Right now, my cup overfloweth. Well, the refrigerator anyway. So, I will be taking some of this yummy deliciousness and putting it up for the leaner winter months when there is nothing to pick.

Of course, I can always go to Peru like my grocery store does

This week, I will be making some different soups using some of these delightfully succulent pieces of produce. Every end of the season, I look forward to ratatouille which is a French eggplant and vegetable dish. I cheat a little and put all the vegetables with no home in the pot too.

Everyone needs to be loved

I have thrown some lentils in the mix here because they are a staple food for me.

Vegetables come from many different parts of the plant, including the leaves, roots, tubers, flowers, stems, seeds and shoots. Legumes are the seeds of the plant and are eaten in their immature form as green peas and beans, and the mature form as dried peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas.

Vegetables can be broken up into different groups, with each group providing their own unique nutrients.

The main sub-groups for vegetables are:

Dark green or cruciferous/brassica
Broccoli, brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbages, cauliflower, kale
Lettuce, silverbeet, spinach, snow peas

Root/tubular/bulb vegetables
Potato, cassava, sweet potato, taro, carrots, beetroot, onions, shallots, garlic, bamboo shoots, swede, turnip

Legumes/beans
Red kidney beans, soybeans, lima beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas, tofu

Other vegetables
Tomato, celery, sprouts, zucchini, squash, avocado, capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms, cucumber, okra, pumpkin, green peas, green beans this snippet right here comes from eatforheallth.gove.au

There can never be enough praise for the lentil. It is the perfect food, having a high nutritional value that anyone can benefit from by incorporating into their diet. It lowers cholesterol, heart health, digestive health, stabilizes blood sugar, high in protein, increases energy and aids in weight loss. The bonuses are too many to list. If I write much more, people will stop reading.

I cannot leave without giving you a sweet treat of sorts. The berry. A perfect fruit.

Okay! You knew it was coming! Go to your refrigerator and open it up. Take a picture. Post it. Refrigerator check! What do you have in yours?

As always, thank you for visiting and don't forget to get your five servings a day in!