 Harvesting VeggiesWhen I first started growing vegetables, I was confused at harvest time because I didn’t know just when to pick my veggies. I discovered I’m not alone. For many novice gardeners, our only knowledge of what ripe fruits and vegetables look like comes from the grocery store. Yet, when we begin to grow our own produce, it rarely looks like the blemish-free, polished and waxed fruit and vegetables at the store.
Here are some tips on how to harvest three popular homegrown goodies at the peak of their ripeness and flavor. Tomatoes Nothing can compare with a homegrown tomato. After one season of growing your own, you may never want to buy a tomato in the store again. Store-bought tomatoes can often be almost tasteless because they are often picked while they’re still green, and then sprayed with ethylene gas to force artificial ripening. The picking, transporting and storage process prevents natural ripening and sugar accumulation. Tomatoes undergo a very interesting physiological change when they are about half pinkish-red and half green. At this “breaker” stage, they form a thin layer of cells that seals the fruit from the stem. This layer of cells prevents any nutrient flow from the plant to the fruit. Tomatoes can be harvested at or after the breaker stage and they will ripen normally, but they need to ripen in the sun, such as on a windowsill, for the sugars to fully develop. Tomatoes that are left on the vine continue to ripen and develop sugars because they are exposed to sunlight, not because they are gaining anything from the plant. Store freshly harvested tomatoes on the counter or in a basket, as refrigeration kills their flavor. Some tomatoes, such as green zebra, German grapefruit, and lemon boy, never turn red. So, be sure to save your seed packets or plant tags, as these will often have pictures of the ripe fruit that you can refer to when deciding if it’s time to harvest. Eggplant Generally, eggplant should be harvested when the flesh is springy, and the skin is shiny purple and tight. Test for springiness by pressing into the side with your finger. If the flesh springs back, the eggplant is ready for picking. Eggplants that are past their prime are dull and soft with wrinkled skin. When ripe, white-skinned eggplant, such as Rosa Bianca, will have skin that is glossy white with pink stripes. Melons When trying to determine a melon’s ripeness, look at the condition of the stem and skin color. Cantaloupes “slip” from the vine, leaving a scar where the stem was attached. The bottom, or end opposite the stem, will be soft and fragrant. Their straw-colored skin should be bright. A ripe honeydew may remain attached to the vine, but should also be soft on the bottom side, opposite the stem. While on the vine, watermelons will have a small, curled tendril extending from the vine opposite from where the stem is attached to the vine. This tendril will turn brown and dry out when the melon is ripe. The stem should still be green and difficult to remove from the vine. The skin touching the ground should be buttery yellow. All melons continue to ripen after they have been removed from the vine, and should be stored in the refrigerator or a cool place. This is a reprint of an article I wrote when I was the commercial horticulture program coordinator for the western area of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. For more specific gardening and horticulture advice be sure to visit your local Cooperative Extension office.
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 Kim reminds us of how to achieve a goal. How to Listen to Your BodyHow many times have we heard the importance of listening to our body? How many of us really KNOW what our body is trying to say to us? Sometimes we don't get the message until we've crossed the line we never knew was there. If you're battling a collection of small nagging issues, you might need to listen to your body and take some time off. If you're not excited about attending class, you might need to listen to your body and take some time off. If you're not progressing despite attending 12 classes per month, you might need to listen to your body and take some time off. Check out this short and insightful podcast from BTWB that can help you feel good in your body while you're listening to it. 
We're having fun with sandbags today;)
Myth: Women Should Workout Fasted Just Like Men
Intermittent fasting and time restricted feeding are popular eating techniques to help folks lose weight and maintain body composition. However, these techniques have been studied on MEN and are not appropriate for active athletic women.
A common MYTH that always makes its way around the fitness space is that if you want to lose weight you should workout fasted. THIS IS NOT TRUE FOR WOMEN! Women are not small men, affirms says Dr. Stacy Sims, and through her research she has discovered that fasted workouts are terrible for women. Our cortisol (stress hormone) increases, our nervous system gets de-regulated, and our sex hormones get totally asynchronous. All of these perturbations on our metabolism have lasting impacts on our health and body composition. Dr. Sims was recently on the Huberman Lab podcast and dropped 2 incredible hours of information specifically on women and fitness. I will be sharing snippets of this podcast all this week. You can listen to the entire 2 hour episode here. Since women shouldn't workout in a fasted state, Dr. Huberman asked Dr. Sims to share her nutrition prescription, including macros breakdown, for a pre-workout meal that will adequately fuel a workout. Her personal favorite is: Double shot of Espresso 15 g of Protein Powder Sweetened almond milk (or other carb rich liquid if your choice) If your training day is cardio heavy, make sure you have at least 30g of carbs. An easy way to get this is with a banana which has about 27g of carbs and 100 calories. It's important for women (more than it is for men) to eat a regular meal within 45 mins of her training session.  Allison has great mobility and is very strong. What's For Dinner?OMG! When will this epic heat wave every end? At 18 days it feels endless. However, according to National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist, Marty Whitmore this is not the longest heat wave we've had. In 2021 we had 22 consecutive days above 90-degrees. We're not at 22, yet, but this streak sure feels like it. When it's hot sometimes it's hard to find good things to eat that also cool us off. Sure, popsicles and ice cream taste fantastic and do the job. However, we still need to eat our veggies! I love cold soup and I'm sharing one every Friday until this heat wave breaks. Cold soups are a snap to make, are an easy way to eat our daily fruits and vegetables, and just taste so darn good. Try today's #foodiefriday recipe for cold zucchini soup from Food and Wine. With this high heat zucchini are staring to come online in my garden. I'm excited to give this recipe a try over the weekend. Be sure to let me know if you make it:)  Click on the image for a Food and Wine recipe for chilled zucchini soup. |
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