Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

Breakfast

(Cereal with either)

1 banana = 1 serving

And/or ¼ cup dried fruit = 1 serving

And/or ½ cup berries = 1 serving

100% fruit juice, ¾ cup = 1 serving

Lunch

(Soup and/or Salad)

1 cup vegetable soup = 1–2 servings

1 cup leafy greens = 1 serving

½ cup hard vegetables (tomatoes, beets, celery,

onions, etc.) = 1 serving

Evening Meal

½ cup vegetables = 1 serving

½ cup potatoes = 1 serving

Dessert

½ cup berries (or other fruit) = 1 serving

The History

The U.S. government began to make quantitative suggestions about diet, including

nutritional guidelines, in a white paper in 1974. The “5 A Day” program emerged
from those suggestions. (It is noteworthy to record that Canada introduced a pro-

gram calling for 9 servings a day around the same time.) Now fast-forward to the

recent OmniHeart Study and the recommendation for 11 servings a day.

All of these visionary objectives should be compared to the present esti­

mated actual U.S. consumption of 3.5 servings, one of which is said to be french

fries.

THE GARDEN-TO-KITCHEN CONNECTION • 11