Kale
Kale is a great started green for beginner gardeners, and has been
enjoying quite a bit of popularity in the last few years among the
healthy hipster elite. You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a kale
salad from Whole Foods to enjoy its free-radical absorbing nutrition,
you can very easily grow it in your own backyard. It’s very versatile
and easy to incorporate in many dishes. Also, you can harvest from a
single kale plant for months, making it a great staple green for your
garden.
Sweet Potato
Another very trendy vegetable as of late, sweet potatoes are packed
with vitamins, particularly vitamin C, as well as minerals, fiber, and
antioxidants. You can grow them in a deep garden bed, in well-tilled
soil, even a barrel or a trash can! They’re definitely worth growing for
their calorie content and nutritious benefits, and make a wonderful and
healthy alternative to grains or white potatoes if you’re trying to
lose weight or eat less starchy foods.
Microgreens/Sprouts
We’re covering all the trends here! Microgreens have been appearing
in posh urban eateries in the last few years, but they’re essentially a
glorified version of the healthy and easy-to-grow sprouts that health
nut hippies have been using to top sandwiches for decades. Microgreens
are essentially sprouted seeds of common salad greens–chard, kale,
lettuce–that have been grown in a soft, delicate medium indoors and
allowed to grow for a week or so. Sprouts, on the other hand, are
harvested within a few days. But both microgreens and sprouts are
incredibly easy to grow and a great way to eat fresh superfood greens
all year round. When seeds are freshly sprouted, they contain vital
nutrients that only newly living organisms can. These are a great option
for urban or apartment homesteaders.
Beets
Beets are commonly featured in many superfood powder drink mixes and
the juice of beets is a staple of the healthy juicing world. They also
happen to be a great vegetable to grow for beginner gardeners! And of
course, there’s nothing as nutritious as a freshly dug beet. They also
keep well too. Beets contain a high concentration of nitric oxide, which
is incredibly crucial for heart health and circulation, and difficult
to find in other foods.
Aloe Vera
Most people think of slathering some aloe on a bad sunburn for some quick relief, and it’s definitely amazing for this! But did you know it’s also a very nutritious superfood? You can eat the leaves as well as juice them, and it’s incredibly beneficial for your health. Also, if you are doing all this gardening, you’ll probably want some to ease the effects of the sun! Keeping one or two aloe plants in your garden or in a pot on your porch is very easy and you’ll find many uses for it beyond eating.
