Whether it’s in a backyard, a window, on a balcony or patio, a greenhouse or outside your front door, you CAN grow your own little garden that you use to regularly prepare your meals and the impact it has on your overall health will amaze you.
There is something so rewarding about growing your own food and I am aware that without having a house with a big yard, it is hard and unrealistic to expect anyone to grow enough vegetables to be able to only source from their own personal garden. I am by no means saying that you shouldn’t supplement your homegrown veggies with ones sourced from other places. My husband Jack and I live in a cozy one bedroom apartment in the middle of LA and trust me, we get it! However, we have found a way to make it work for us! We love to support local farmers as much as possible. Every weekend we go to two or three different farmers markets to see what they have and to learn about what is in season. That knowledge is incredibly important. We try very hard not to stray from eating within the right seasons because so often in the past we have been disappointed with bland, lackluster produce that is grown year round to supply consumer demands. Because it lacked the flavor of being in season, we just started going off of it all together. So many of us don't realize that a huge reason why we don't like the fruits and vegetables we see in stores is because we've never actually tried them the way they were intended to be eaten. When you’re able to eat local and know what is being grown at its best in the current conditions, it makes a huge difference! So, after consulting with our garden and supporting local farms whenever possible, then we will pick up the rest of what we need from a supermarket because no one can argue that the markets do carry the widest variety of veggies and fruits and because we eat a ton of them daily, we need the extra help!
I am a firm believer that even if just used as a seasoning and not the main part of your meal, it is so important to at least have a couple things that are picked right off the branch or vine on your dinner plate. It not only brightens dishes in a way that something that has spent the better part of a week in transport ever could, but I also believe that it creates a better relationship between you and your food. Having fresh herbs or tomatoes or peppers on my plate that I had the satisfaction of growing makes me so much more appreciative and in love with the nutrients and flavor they provide. It’s been proven that when people feel involved in the process of their food they care so much more about what they’re putting into their mouths and they have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the way that food can affect the mind and body.
To me, the idea of walking out of my front door and on to my little patio to pick a bunch of fresh ingredients to use with the dinner I prepare for my family is so romantic. We always hear about people saying that love is one of the most important ingredients in a good dish- well, to me, loving and caring for the ingredients that I eat really brings that idea full circle. I will admit, I might take this a little overboard sometimes. I don’t name my tomatoes or anything like that, but I absolutely enjoying telling all of my plants how much I love and appreciate them when I am giving them their daily watering. I give to them, and they happily give back to me.
Giving gratitude to my food is so special because over the past year, I have experienced a shift in my health and wellbeing unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. I have been able to successfully eat all of the things that I love while also getting into the best shape of my entire life. My results have been drastic to say the least. I have changed my relationship with food, focusing on only eating the things that feel good to my body and make me happy. Rather than thinking that if I enjoy something it must be bad for me or that to get anywhere with weight loss or health, I must deprive myself of enjoyment so that I don’t fall off the wagon, I vowed to never exile anything that I love from my regular diet. After just 8 months of changing my thought process, which then easily and naturally changed my eating habits, the foods I love have become more a part of my diet than ever and my tastes have transformed. I eat carbs, I eat delicious rich cheeses, I rarely skip dessert and lord knows I drink wine. How else am I supposed to cope with the current climate of our country? My point is this: it’s not just okay, it is imperative to indulge responsibly and often. When we have a better appreciation for tasting the foods that we eat, we need less of it to satisfy us. I started with vegetables but it improved all of the other food groups for me as well.
There is nothing like biting into a gorgeous bright red cherry tomato plucked right off the vine, and actually being able to taste and feel the sunshine and energy in your mouth that it just absorbed that afternoon. I know that is eccentric and maybe even a little poetic, but you guys, I never liked tomatoes until I started growing them and NOW LISTEN TO ME! I’m a crazy tomato lady! Tomatoes from the store, the ones that are so hard, pale and unripe when they’re picked because they need to survive days to weeks in a truck or on a shelf are not what I think of anymore when thinking of the naturally sweet, intensely flavorful fruit that cheers up any dish it’s tossed in to.
So here is my challenge for you. If you’ve come to the conclusion that you have the desire to live a healthier life and you’re at the point where you’d even consider dieting, first, I want you to try this. We started with a tiny basil plant and our garden grew from there. We’d put basil on our pizza that was delivered to us, in our salads, wraps, smoothies or even in water with cucumber. We’d use it as much as possible on everything we could until finally we wanted more. Once you start tasting how magnificent fresh herbs can be, you start to notice when a dish is lacking freshness and you realize that it’s not nearly as satisfying to you anymore. Herbs are a wonderful place to start because they grow quickly, they’re agreeable to any area that can get at least a couple hours of daylight a day and we often don’t get enough fresh herbs because we see them in those little clamshells at the store and think to ourselves; “I don’t want to have to deal with cleaning up that rotten liquid mess in a month when I finally fish it out of the back of my produce drawer in the fridge.” Having an herb garden is so lovely because you can take just what you need and not have to worry about waste. Herb gardens are also beautiful to look at and if right outside your window, they can really increase the aesthetic of your living space.
We went to Home Depot and got a bunch of their ready to plant herbs and vegetables and ordered big gardening tubs off of Amazon. They're very easy to find! Scroll through for a little look at some of the amazing veggies and herbs we have right now.
Currently in our garden we grow:
Basil
Mint
Lemon Thyme
Jalapeños
Purple Basil
Thai Basil
Cherry Tomatoes
Cilantro
Rosemary
Poblano Peppers and
Pears
I am so adamant about NOT dieting and eating a little bit of everything you can get your hands on so long as it’s minimally processed and you know and appreciate where it came from. There is endless amounts of information out there about how it is best to eat things that are grown as close to you as possible and the sooner you eat them after they are picked, the higher their nutrient density is. I can’t stress enough the enormous benefits that come with having our own little garden. I will be posting lots of recipes in the future and they will all call for fresh herbs and some easily grown vegetables and I truly hope that you consider taking your food into your own hands and planting today.
Lots of love,
Suni
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