The fresh garden vegetables are starting to come in from gardens (or grocery stores) in our area!  It’s a great time of year to add really fresh and tasty fruits and vegetables to your meals.  I am a big fan of adding fruit and vegetables to your diet because they are full of essential vitamins and nutrients.

Did you know that some vitamins and minerals can be lost through cooking?  Vitamin B and Vitamin C are water-soluble vitamins, meaning that they dissolve in water.  So boiling a vegetable like spinach can cause a loss of Vitamin C.  Some vitamins and nutrients can also be destroyed by heat, so you have to be careful in your cooking methods to keep those vitamins.

Here are some tips for keeping the vitamins and minerals in your fresh veggies this summer:

• Leave edible skins on vegetables and fruits like carrots, potatoes, or pears.  Many vitamins and minerals are found in the skin, so it’s important to just wash them thoroughly and eat them with the skin on.
• Wash fruits and vegetables well with a soft brush and water.  Do not soak them as you wash since some vitamins dissolve in water.
• Steam or cook vegetables in a small amount of water.  You can retain more nutrients this way because the vegetables aren’t exposed to water for very long.
• Microwave!  Microwave cooking is so fast and quick that you don’t risk losing heat-sensitive nutrients.  Another advantage to microwaving is that vegetables retain their bright color and crispness.
• Eat vegetables and fruits raw!  This is the best way to get the most nutrition out of your produce.

Enjoy a summer of delicious fruits and vegetables (with all the nutrients intact)!