Wellfie Wednesday Tip #144: Know Your Seasonal Produce

Happy Wellfie Wednesday! Welcome back! This week is brought to you by Patrick (@TheFuelPhysio) and is a perfect mention for the Spring Season!

Spring is finally here!! Well at least for where I am in upstate South Carolina. The temperatures are finally where they should be, everything is COVERED in pollen, and it’s forecasted to rain… like every day. But we do have some beautiful weather forecasted for the future. But enough about that, lets talk PRODUCE!

Spring is an amazing time to start being on the lookout for fresh produce, which if you didn’t know can be very specific to your region of the country. Fresh produce is not only important to get the best flavors, but also that time of the year they become a bit cheaper. For example, early this week I took advantage of buying a larger quantity of strawberries and they’ve been fantastic!

A great resource that you can use to find what’s available in your area, and even specific to ANY time of the year, is the Seasonal Food Guide. I love this resource because it’ll also link you to info on storing and even cooking methods for specific fruits or vegetables.

So check out what’s fresh in your area and let us know! Thanks for all of the support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members in your post (@TheFuelPhysio, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @FreestylePhysio, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

- WW Crew

Wellfie Wednesday Tip #141: Start a Vegetable Garden!

Happy Wellfie Wednesday! Welcome back! This week is brought to you by Patrick (@TheFuelPhysio).

Man this weather has been crazy!! I think I’ve been fooled by Mother Nature at least 4 times this season. Every time I think Spring has come and warmer weather is here to stay, temperatures drop again! Happening again right now after the beautiful weekend we just had in upstate South Carolina. But I certainly took advantage of those nice couple days. Finally got our new vegetable garden built!

Normally I would have liked to get the ground ready and prepped prior to planting some things, but I went ahead and did it all at once while I had the time to do so. This year I went with trying out a raised garden bed, where I could control all the soil and compost being used. Also testing out the location of it, prior to making it any bigger. I’ve situated it on the side of our house, where it gets morning sun and than shade from about 1-2PM onward.

So far, I’ve planted some bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, banana peppers, roma tomatoes, and strawberries (not in this picture). I’ll add zucchini this coming weekend. It’s a bit smaller than my previous vegetable garden, but you have to start somewhere.

The picture of the fenced in garden was at our old place back in 2017. That one was pretty successful back then, so I’m hoping for a similar harvest this year.

Personally, I think EVERYONE should try out having a vegetable garden! Especially if you have young kids. Being able to teach them how things grow and where real food comes from is tremendously important. Now it doesn’t have to be as elaborate as these or other gardens you may have seen. I’ve literally done vegetable gardens in multiple gallon pots. If anything, just try out having 1 plant this year.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes! Thanks for all of the support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members in your post (@TheFuelPhysio, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @FreestylePhysio, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

- WW Crew

Wellfie Wednesday Tip #107: Zucchini Time!

Happy Wellfie Wednesday! Welcome back! This week is brought to you by Diana (@DianaKlatt)!

     I don’t know about all of you home gardeners but my summer garden is overloaded with zucchini. So I decided to look a bit into what the health benefits of zucchini are and to make sure it’s not a problem if I eat it every day for the next month…

     So what are the health benefits? Well first things first, let’s talk about the major reason for an increasing trend in zucchini as “zoodles.” Notably for the replacement of pasta and reduction in calories for weight loss. Zucchini is high in fiber and water content, which helps you feel fuller for longer! 

     What else does zucchini have? Well, zucchini is high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin B5, manganese, potassium, sodium, calcium, folate, iron, zinc, and even a bit of protein… daaang that is so many nutrients! Zucchini is an excellent source for optimal health maintenance and also so versatile.

     Some studies even suggestion that zucchini can help prevent certain types of diseases when consumed regularly because typically foods that are fiber-rich and antioxidant-abundant can help aid in reducing cancerous cells.

PRO-TIP: Zucchini is 95% water so before you do anything, salt the zucchini first to get the excess water out and drain it! Also, keep the skin ON the zucchini to get maximum nutrients (ie. beta-carotene, antioxidants…).

Things I’ve tried so far:

• Zucchini noodles/"zoodles"
• Zucchini fritters
• Zucchini tempura
• Zucchini bread (with and without chocolate chips!)
• Zucchini boats (this one is life changing, I was recommended this and looked some recipes up on pinterest)

     If you’ve got any suggestions, send them my way! Thanks for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members in your post (@TheFuelPhysio, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @AaronPerezPT, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

-WW Crew

Wellfie Wednesday Tip #104: Don't Wish for a Veggie Garden - Plant Your Own

     Happy Wellfie Wednesday! Welcome back! This week is brought to you by Patrick (@TheFuelPhysio). And I've got gardening on the mind! Not because I'm busy tending to garden, but because I'm getting bombarded at work with folks bringing in all their EXTRA vegetables.

     It's around this time of the year (if I didn't plant) that I start to regret not having planted any veggies, and wishing I was reaping the benefits of saving a few bucks and having the freshest of foods. Last year's garden was great. We had picked a small area of the yard, 8'x8', and planted a variety of things. We had some peppers (always the easiest if starting out), tomatoes (I always have better luck with roma), eggplant (surprising easy and delicious), brussels sprouts (never knew when to pick them), and zucchini/squash (which grow like wild fire!). But this year, I wasn't totally ready, nor had the time to set up a new garden at our new house. Mother nature played a small role as well. 

     But my point is, don't make excuses, you can always find a way to have a veggie garden. It doesn't have to be an elaborate, perfectly tilled landscape. It can simply be a plant within a pot. If you water it, it'll produce, most of the time. Though if you do get the feeling this time of year (probably just me), look into planting a veggie garden next spring, you won't regret it! (I normally start end of March/early April). 

     However, I did end up last minute planting some fruit plants, which have surprising taken off. My two blackberry bushes (growing more like vines) are already producing and my two blueberry bushes are well... being bushes. 

     Let us see your garden if you planted this year! And Thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members in your post (@TheFuelPhysio, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @AaronPerezPT, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

- WW Crew