June Newsletter

June is the start of summer fun that includes picnics, outdoor grilling, and food on the go. I’ve got some great ideas for incorporating fresh veggies into traditional summer favorites!

Last month, I shared a recipe for Lemon Pepper Kale Mayo. It’s suprisingly easy to make and so tasty! The video is now available on the YouTube Channel for The Tasty vegeTable.

Keep following for more tasty recipes and enjoy the start of summer!

– Heidi Herman

PS – if you’d like to come to one of my events, see my Calendar. My next event is in Moorehead , Minnesota for the Scandinavian Hjemkomst & Midwest Viking Festival June 23-24.

Do you secretly turn up your nose at veggies? Eat them because they’re good for you not because you like them? Youre not alone!
June is National Fruit & Vegetable Month

June 17th is National Eat Your Vegetables Day. Fortunately, there’s no rule on how you do that! You can chop, dice, julienne, or puree so they’ll add easily to just about anything.

National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month – June 2023. U.S. Celebrate National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables month this June with these colorful and tasty foods. It’s often called Eating the Rainbow. The Farmer’s Almanac writes “Since the 1970’s, an abundance of evidence has demonstrated that people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables are healthier and seem to be protected from chronic disease” quoting Beverly Clevidence, a nutritionist with the U.S. Agricultural Research Service’s Food Components and Health Laboratory since 1984. (https://www.almanac.com/eat-colorful-plants-health)

Fruits and vegetables provide a variety of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and fiber — while remaining naturally low in calories, fat and sodium. That makes them perfect for any diet but some are not as tasty as we might like. Lack of taste appeal is one of the leading reasons many people don’t get the recommended amounts of vegetables.

Getting past that mindset is what The Tasty vegeTable is all about – sharing recipes for delicious dishes made more nutritious. Recipes here don’t highlight vegetables, instead, they infuse and incorporate them in ways that become almost invisible to taste while keeping the good-for-you.

Last month’s newsletter recipe for Lemon Pepper Kale Mayo is now available as a video on the YouTube Channel. It’s a great addition to a sandwich or makes a tasty chip dip too.

Follow links for YouTube videos and subscribe to be notified of new video recipes every Wednesday!

Keep reading for your monthly collection of info, easy tips, and tasty recipes!

Recipes

Here are two of my favorite recipes that use super-nutritious salad greens in a different way. This is my Kale lemon pepper mayo and Spinach Salisbury Stak and Kale. Check out the YouTube channel for more recipe ideas.

Beetroot Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

2 cups beet puree (watch video)
2 cups fresh strawberries (washed and dried, hulls removed)
3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 box powdered pectin (Sure-gel)

Directions

Bring beet juice, strawberries and lemon juice to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over high heat.
Stir in the pectin and bring to boil again.
Add the sugar and return to a boil, allowing to boil one minute.
Spoon jelly into clean, sterile 1-cup canning jars and seal, leaving 1/4 inch space. Any jars that do not properly seal should be stored in the refrigerator.

Photo Image by Freepic

Cheeseburger Pockets

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground beef

2 Tablespoons ketchup

1 Tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

1 12-oz tube refrigerated biscuits

6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.
In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.
Drain any fat, then return to medium heat. Add chopped spinach and cook until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add ketchup and mustard, stirring to mix.
Place two biscuits overlapping on a floured surface; roll out into a 5-in. oval. Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture on one side and cover with cheese.
Fold dough over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. Place on greased baking sheet. Prick top lightly with fork to release steam when baking.
Repeat with remaining biscuits, meat mixture and cheese.
Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Vegetable Infusion Ideas

Many people like to incorporate both fruits and veggies into smoothies or nutritional water. There are many great recipes available online and in popular cookbooks. There’s also a link below in the following section. Use those to increase your intake of fruits and veggies or try some of these ideas:

When you make riced cauliflower, save the cauliflower juice to add to your next smoothie.
Add pureed spinach to a breakfast egg, sausage, and potato scramble.
Add diced celery to stews and tomato-based dishes like spaghetti or sloppy joes. It increases flavor and nutrition!
Add fresh diced or julienne carrots to soups. You can prep and freeze the carrots to make quick healthy additions, to canned foods or homemade dishes.