Facebook Profile: Arugula

Basic Information
Birthday: My leaves date back to Ancient Rome. (That's about the 10th century B.C. for those of you who slept through high school history!)

Hometown: Italy. I grow wild throughout the Mediterranean and Asia.
 
Family Members: A member of the mustard family, I'm related to mustard greens and mustard seeds. (Take one bite, and you'll taste the resemblance!)

Personal Information
Fans: I'm extremely popular in Europe, and have attracted a number of admirers in the States in recent years. Of course, people who are trying to lose weight love me because I contain only 5 calories per cup, like most greens—but I offer a bit more flavor. With my peppery, sometimes, spicy taste, I've also become a favorite of gourmands.

Favorite Activities: Starring in a nutritious salad dish (I can also be mixed with milder greens). And I love to be quickly wilted and flavored with garlic, a pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper as a side to any main dish.

Favorite Fact: In ancient times, my seeds were incorporated into aphrodisiacs. Talk about spicing things up!

About Me: My nickname in other parts of the world is rocket (salad rocket, garden rocket, etc.). I'm at my best right now in the spring and again in the fall because I don't like extremely hot weather—it makes me taste bitter.

Favorite Quotation: "People in Iowa know what arugula is. They may not eat it, but you know what it is," said President Barack Obama during the presidential campaign in response to attacks from opponents and the media that he was out of touch with the common man.

Sidra's Spring Garden Update

I've been writing about my early spring planting, and although it's still too early to harvest many things, we have been able to enjoy a few items from the garden already.

We've had a continuous supply of salad greens since mid-March, for example. Up until this point, it has been arugula and other tender greens that thrive with cool nights and mild days. As we pick the greens, we replace with new lettuce seeds, most recently with heat-tolerant greens, such as special summer mixes, chard, wild arugula and pursalane. We continue to enjoy salads daily and plan to until the first freeze. Tonight for dinner, for instance, I plan to roast some chard. The leaves are still small but with chard, you can cut it and it will grow back on the same plants, often for two years in a row.

Last week we had our first homegrown strawberries of the season. Although the yield was quite small—six berries to be exact—they were absolutely delicious and my daughter was excited to see that the plants we had planted several years ago were going to bear berries again. Hopefully we'll get more in the next few weeks.

This weekend, we pulled up a carrot to check the progress and found that it was still quite small—probably another few weeks before they're ready to eat. The broccoli will be picked sometime this week.

Last week we also planted some of the seeds that need to be planted in warm soil, such as cucumbers, eggplant and string beans. I expect to see sprouts from these new plantings within the next week or so. Can't wait to try some new recipes and dishes once they're ready!

For more tips on growing your own produce and eating healthfully, check out TheBestLife.com.

It's So Easy Being Green

I like my food to work hard for me—or at least, to work as hard as I do to prepare it. What I mean is, if a food doesn't offer me lots of preparation and usage options (in addition to nutrients), chances are I'm not going to use it. 

This is why I love leafy greens. The'’re easy to cook, you can prepare them numerous ways, you can use them numerous ways, and they taste amazing. My favorites lately have been rainbow chard and watercress. Typically, I heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a small skillet and add a chopped clove of garlic. Then I add my greens and cook them until they begin to wilt. At this point, I usually toss in some cubed tofu and cook everything until it's just tender. 

Sometimes, though, I'll put a ¼ cup of water in the skillet with the greens to create steam and wilt them completely. Then I add the wilted greens to whole-wheat pasta or place them on top of a bowl of tomato soup with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Other tasty greens to try are mustard greens, beet greens, and collard greens.

For more great healthy-eating and cooking tips, check out TheBestLife.com.

Two Must-Have Kitchen Tools

Want to increase your intake of fruits and veggies? One way to do that is to make preparing and eating them even easier. That means having the right tools in your ktichen, including a good vegetable peeler and a salad spinner.

I find that the quality of my vegetable peeler determines my success at this task. When purchasing a vegetable peeler, I look for a comfortable handle and a sharp blade that swivels. Buy a peeler that has both and you'll make a potentially tedious job quick and painless. Remember that your vegetable peeler is like a fine knife, but it's even harder to sharpen. Therefore, wash your peeler by hand and be careful about storing it where the blade won't be beaten up.

A salad spinner is essential if you eat lots of greens. This tool is inexpensive and efficient. A salad spinner consists of a basket (that fits into a bowl) and spins to gently dry your greens. That means greens that are clean, crisp and delicious. Without a spinner, it's nearly impossible to thoroughly dry your greens without beating them up.

For more healthy cooking tips, check out TheBestLife.com.

Build a Healthy Salad

Salads are my mainstay in the spring and summer—some greens, precooked chicken strips, dressing—I never have toturn on the stove. In the cooler months, my salads are a little moreinteresting. I'll poach or grill fish and lay it over a bed of tossedgreens. I'll add oranges or grapefruit—both winter fruits. Happy towarm up the kitchen, I'll boil beets and stir-fry the beet greens andstick those in a salad, too.

When you're trying to make a mealout of a salad, toss carefully:
A salad can either be a diet boon or bust. They're a boonif you keep your calories to about 400 to 500, and include a mix ofvegetables, lean protein and healthy fat. With a salad like this, you canwalk away from your meal feeling pleasantly full for relatively fewcalories.

On the other hand, your bowl can become a big bustif you load it up with fatty toppings like bacon bits, cheese and extrafull-fat dressing. Your so-called "healthy" meal could end up costingyou more calories and fat than a burger, fries and shake would have!

So what does a healthy salad look like? Stick with these guidelines andyou'll be able to enjoy a satisfying, low-calorie meal whether you'reeating at home or your favorite restaurant. Feel free to be creativeand add your favorite ingredients, and soon you'll be craving saladsall the time.

Start with a generous bed of plain vegetables.Think beyond the standard salad fixings. Try roasted red peppers, sweetstand-ins for tomatoes; canned artichoke hearts, which will give yoursalad texture and provide extra fiber; and hearts of palm, a rich andextravagant add for a mere 20 calories and less than half gram fat per½ cup.

Use a little fat.Stir in one high-fat addition, such as 2 tablespoons of shreddedcheese, 1 tablespoon of nuts, or ¼ cup sliced avocado. Keep your saladslim by choosing only one.

Pump up protein.Make your greens more filling by including a serving of protein in yourbowl. Smart picks include tofu, steamed shrimp, grilled skinlesschicken or lean beef. Eating out? Avoid "crispy" chicken; that's codefor fried.

Dress your greens. Use 80 to 100calories worth of full-fat dressing (that's 1½ tablespoons—about athird of what's usually served in most restaurants). Make your dressingwith olive oil, which is high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, orcanola or walnut oils, which are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fats. Ifyou like a more heavily dressed salad, then opt for reduced-fatdressings. They're better than fat-free options because you need alittle fat to help your body absorb some nutrients in vegetables.

Choose a complex carb.Enjoy a medium whole-wheat roll on the side. Or, you can add somegrains right to your salad. Sprinkle on ½ cup of whole-wheat croutons,diced potatoes or corn. Then get ready to dig in.

For more healthy-eating and weight-loss advice, join TheBestLife.com.