Final Week of the Tucker Box Project

Hi Everyone,

What a fun three months it has been!
Thank you everyone for so enthusiastically participating in this project. We hope that this has started the gardening bug in you and inspired you to begin growing your own vegetables at home.

The final Tucker Box Competition was to send in a picture of your vegetables being eaten or as part of a dish.

We have a winner for the final month - and it's Sancia Rose! Thank you Sancia for these wonderful looking dishes, you have won a $50 voucher to Kingaroy Garden Centre.

The first dish is a Spinach Chicken and Tomato Wrap






The second dish Sancia sent in is a Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry









and the third dish Sancia made with her home grown vegetables is a Spinach and Lettuce Salad with Chicken


What a great way to incorporate spinach and lettuce into your everyday meals. The more variety and colour you can get into your dishes the more nutritious they will be.








Final Survey

To evaluate the program and determine if we need to make any changes and if we'll do it again next year, we are conducting a short survey for everyone that participated.
We will be emailing and posting out survey forms in the next week. Everyone that returns a form will receive a free RHealth BBQ Toolkit - perfect for this Summer's BBQ season!

Don't Forget! The Final Community Garden Workshop this Weekend!

Hi Everyone!

Don't forget this Weekend's final Community Garden Workshop!

The Tucker Box Project is Healthy Communities initiative to provide families with an opportunity to grow vegetables at home. This family fun day is to:

• Plant out the Healthy Communities Garden Bed
• Free Healthy BBQ Breakfast, thanks to Rotary
• Free Face Painting
• Free paper pots and grass head making
• Heaps of information on Organic Gardening and getting involved in the Community Garden

Where: Kingaroy Pound Street Community Garden
When: Saturday 19 November, 8.30am – 10.30am
What: Heaps of fun activities for the whole family!

For more information on how to be involved contact:
Berneice, RHealth Kingaroy
Email berneice@rhealth.com.au
Phone 07 4162 5230

Saturday 19 November Family Fun Day

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Don't forget to start sending in your entries for the final Tucker Box competition!
You have until 30 November to get your pictures in that show you eating or incorporating your delicious vegetables in a healthy meal.

Also - on Saturday the 19th of November from 8.30-10.30am we will have a FREE family fun day at the Kingaroy Community Garden. There is plenty happening including:
• Planting out the Healthy Communities Garden Bed
• Free Healthy BBQ Breakfast, thanks to Rotary
• Free Face Painting
• Free paper pots and grass head making
• Heaps of information on Organic Gardening and getting involved in the Community Garden

For more information contact Berneice at RHealth on 07 4162 5230 or email berneice@rhealth.com.au

Week 7 Tucker Box Update

OCTOBER TUCKERBOX WINNER ANNOUNCED

And the Winner of the ‘Best Looking Vegetables’ is:

Sancia Bayldon!

Congratulations Sancia you have won a $50 voucher to the Kingaroy Garden Centre.



Our two runners up are:

Emma Koy


and Melissa Ballin


Who will both receive a Healthy Food Fast Cookbook. Congratulations!


Are your vegetables going to seed?


If you want to be a little organised about this and start saving seeds for next season it matters which varieties you plant. Knowing when and how to harvest your vegetables is definitely a skill that is eventually learned through trial and error. Getting the right taste has everything to do with when the vegetable is harvested.
In general, vegetables should be harvested just before they are ripe.

This way, you prevent pests from getting a taste of the finished product, as well the risk of the produce rotting out. For example, mature lettuce needs to be picked early or else the weight of the mature leaf will become heavy and droop towards the ground. When the leaf comes in contact with the ground, it starts to break down. The same is true for other leafy vegetables, like spinach.

Further, vegetables will go to seed if you do not continually harvest. When a vegetable goes to seed, it will start to grow flowers and the plant changes direction and becomes focused on producing seeds instead of edible crop.

Some types of vegetables – like carrots and onions – are just not worth trying to save the seeds since they are biennials and take two years to mature and produce seed. Other types of veggies, like lettuce, have seeds that are hard to catch and harvest at the right time. Even within certain vegetable species, some varieties are much easier to save than others.

What to do when it goes to seed

Broccoli: Harvest seed pods before the pods split open naturally, but after they have fully matured and dried on the stalks – the seeds will not continue ripening after the plants or stems are cut. Finish drying upside down in paper bags or hanging in bundles over a tarp. When the plants are completely dry, any seeds that haven't naturally fallen out of their seed pods are easily removed by crumbling the pods. Broccoli seeds will last for 5 years if properly stored.


Lettuce: While each flower opens only during the morning of one day, the flowering period is long and there are almost always flowers blooming on the plants. This means that a flowering plant will have flowers and seeds in all stages of maturity. Gather dried seed heads (they are easy to recognise) every couple or three days as they ripen and dry, or wait until most seed heads have dried and hang the plant upside down over a tarp or in a paper bag (harvest dry seeds if rains threaten). Lettuce seeds can remain viable for 3 years if properly stored.

Parsley: Allow seeds to mature and dry on the plants before harvesting. Parsley seeds can be kept for 2 or 3 years if properly stored.

Asian Greens: Allow the pods to dry on the plant. They will generally hang around for weeks until you remember to take them off. Snip off the seed heads when they are brittle, then separate them to store.


Let’s look at legumes

It’s a strange name, but if you’ve had chilli con carne or hummus lately then chances are you’ve been eating legumes!

The legume family actually includes common foods like kidney beans, split peas, soy beans, chick peas and lentils. And these bite sized beauties are high in fibre, a rich source of carbohydrate, packed with protein, low in fat and they’ll keep you feeling fuller for longer. Plus you’ll probably find they are easy on the wallet and can be an alternative to other sources of protein such as meat and poultry.

Here are some serving suggestions:
• Swap creamy dips for hummus. Team it with sticks of carrot, celery and capsicum for a healthy dipping snack.
• Swap meat-based one pot dishes for less meat and add some legumes. Try kidney beans in chilli con carne, chick peas in casseroles and lentils in bolognaise.
• Making a hearty pot of stew or soup? Try adding lentils or split peas to add substance.
What do you do with legumes? Share your swap tips at
https://swapit.gov.au/ways-to-swap/your-swaps

Go for 2&5 with dinner

It’s easy to pack extra vegetables into meals – begin making a habit of adding a few extra vegetables to whatever the recipe says, and gradually increase the serve size of the vegetables you have on the side – go for half the plate filled with vegetables.

Easy beef hotpot
15 minutes preparation + 2 hours cooking
18 serves of vegies in this recipe
Serves 6 people

Ingredients:
1kg chuck or blade steak, cubed
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons paprika
425g can crushed tomatoes
2 medium onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 sticks celery, sliced
2 large carrots, thickly sliced
1 turnip, cut into large chunks
3 medium potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 cup red wine or stock

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Toss meat, flour and paprika in a plastic bag, tip into a heavy casserole dish.
Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Press a piece of baking paper over the ingredients and cover closely with a lid.
Cook for 2 hours without lifting the lid. Check for seasoning and tenderness, returning to oven if more cooking time is required.

Vegie lasagne
25 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking
22 serves of vegies in this recipe
Serves 6 people

Ingredients:
500g pumpkin or sweet potato, peeled and sliced
2 bunches English spinach or young silverbeet, washed and sliced
500g reduced-fat ricotta
6 spring onions, sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
12 sheets instant lasagne, softened in hot water
425g jar tomato pasta sauce

Topping:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups low fat milk
pepper and nutmeg to taste
½ cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese

Method:
Preheat oven to 180ºC.
Steam the pumpkin for 3 minutes, then cool.
Plunge spinach into boiling water until wilted and drain well.
In a large bowl combine ricotta, onion and parsley.
Arrange 3 sheets of lasagne onto base of ovenproof pan (33cmx22cm).
Top with 1/3 each of pumpkin, tomato sauce and spinach ricotta mixture. Repeat twice and top with remaining lasagne sheets.
To make topping, break eggs into flour and mix well to remove lumps. Whisk in milk, pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil, whisking until smooth and thickened. Add pepper and nutmeg, pour over top of lasagne and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Both recipes are from “Healthy Food Fast”, published by the Western Australian Dept of Health, 2006


For more information visit

www.rhealth.com.au

www.gofor2and5.com.au

Week 5 Update

The October Competition
The best photo of your vegetables growing
Is due by Monday 31 October! So get snapping now and email or MMS your photos to
0419 660 133 or berneice@rhealth.com.au to be in the draw to win a $50 voucher to Kingaroy Garden Centre.

Community Garden Open Day
8.30-10.30am, Saturday 29 October Pound Street Garden, Kingaroy
Come along for your chance to learn more about organic gardening practices such as:
• Composting
• Weeding
• Keeping pests away
• Companion planting and much more!
For more information contact Berneice at RHealth on 07 4162 5230



Organic gardening is easy...
Organic gardening is an approach to growing food, ornamentals and native plants using both traditional and scientific gardening techniques. The principles of organic growing can be applied at any scale — from large commercial farms to container plants on your apartment balcony.

For home and community gardeners, organic growing is low-cost and safe. Organics avoids the possibility of gardeners contaminating themselves and the city’s waterways through the erroneous use of synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilisers, fungicides and other biocides.

Organic gardeners learn about the ecological processes that go on in the garden. We use this knowledge to:

■ control insect pests without damaging beneficial insects
■ increase the fertility of our soils
■ place plants that benefit each other close together
■ increase the productivity of our gardens.

This fact sheet is from Community Gardens Australia and is available at:
http://communitygarden.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/organic_gardening.pdf



1 in 7 Households throws away $2500 worth of food each year...
Here are some ways you can minimise waste in your home
• Produce as many things as you can yourself, or source them locally. Grow some of your own produce, keep chickens, and shop directly from a local farmer where possible.
• Get a compost bin or worm farm for your ktichen waste. Use this to fertilise your garden and grow a blossoming vegetable patch.
• Consume less: only buy products that you really need. Try to avoid resorting to 'retail therapy'.
• Shop locally and avoid products that are processed or have a lot of plastic packaging.
• Recycle old clothing as rags for cleaning.
• Recycle old jars for jams and preserves. Use plastic containers to store leftovers and larder staples, or for cleaning products.
• Stop using paper and plastic bags: purchase or make a recycled cotton, hemp or string bag.
• Bottle your own filtered tap water instead of buying plastic bottled water.
• Practise 'positive pilfering': if someone is throwing something out that could be used, grab it!
Source: http://foodwise.com.au/get-foodwise/frugavore.aspx


Recipe ideas for 2&5 at breakfast

Breakfast is a good time to include fruit and vegetables and there are so many different ways to do it! Whether it is as simple as topping cereal with some fresh or canned fruit, making a quick smoothie or perhaps one of the following quick and easy recipes:

Banana and Cinnamon Toast
1 minute preparation + 5 minutes cooking
1 serve of fruit in this recipe
Serves 1 to 2 people

Ingredients:
2 slices multigrain bread, toasted on one side
1 banana, peeled and sliced
Cinnamon
Jam or honey (optional)

Method:
Spread the banana on the untoasted side of the bread, together with a little jam or honey if desired. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Eat as is, or if desired, heat under the grill or microwave until the banana is soft, about 5 minutes.

(Recipe from “FoodCents Family Cookbook”, published by the Western Australian Department of Health, 1997)


All Year Round Fruit Salad

15 minutes preparation
7 serves of fruit in this recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups melon, peeled and chopped
(watermelon, rockmelon or honeydew melon)
1 banana, peeled and sliced
½ pineapple, cored and cubed
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and cubed
Pulp of 3 passionfruit
Juice of 2 oranges

Methods:
Combine all fruit in a large serving bowl. Stir through passionfruit and pour over juice and mix. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Hint - Make sure orange juice is poured over any fruits that discolour quickly, e.g. bananas, pears and apples.

Variation - All fruits can be used in this salad. When in season, use stone fruits, grapes, mangoes and strawberries.

Orange Loaf

20 minutes preparation + 35-40 minutes cooking
5 serves of fruit in this recipe

Olive or canola oil spray
2 cups self-raising flour
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup sultanas
Rind of 2 oranges, grated
1/3 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
2 eggs
¼ cup low-fat milk
1 tablespoon margarine, melted

Topping
125g reduced-fat ricotta
Rind of 1 small orange, grated
2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly spray a loaf tin. Combine flour, sugar and sultanas in a mixing bowl. In another bowl mix remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry, stir and spoon into tin. Bake for 35–40 minutes until cooked and golden. Turn onto wire cooling rack. When cool, spread with ricotta topping. Store in refrigerator. Serves 8.

Topping
Whip ricotta, rind and juice until smooth.

Variation
Replace half the flour with wholemeal self-raising flour and use 1 cup chopped dried apricots instead of sultanas.

Serving suggestion
Serve with freshly sliced citrus fruit as a gourmet breakfast, or spread with a little marmalade and cheese, e.g quark or cottage cheese, for a delicious snack.

© Healthy Food Fast, State of Western Australia, 2009.

Week Three - announcing the September competition winner!

And the winner is...............
Tamara Williams

CONGRATULATIONS Tamara, you have won a $50 voucher to the Kingaroy Garden Centre for your tissue paper art. What a fantastic effort!




A Highly Commended must go to
The Ploughman's



And Sancia Rose for their fantastic entries!



How are your vegetables growing? Now is a good time to use your SeaSol liquid fertiliser.Make sure you follow the packet instructions and mix it in with 10 Litres of water.

We have had our resident Garden Guru Grace Gibson answer your gardening questions. If you'd like your questions answered by our expert email them to berneice@rhealth.com.au

Question 1
How do I set up a composting bin?
We recommend visiting the Community Gardens Website factsheet. It is full of helpful information for starting your composting bin. visit http://communitygarden.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/composting.pdf


Question 2
What is the best way to keep vegetables in pots and boxes?
With vegies in pots or boxes they need watered regularly, morning sun, seasol dissolved in water (one of those sachets to 10litres) monthly.I think the soil would be rich enough to not need replenished more than once a year if seasol was being used monthly.

Question 3
How long do each type of plant last - do they need to be replaced seasonally, or do they keep growing. And when growing lettuce/ spinach etc, can you take leaves off as it grows or is it best to leave it til it's finished growing and take the whole thing?
When growing lettuce, spinach & Asian greens you can harvest a few leaves as you need until the plant goes to seed.

Question 4
How do I grow potatoes at home?

Potatoes can be planted early Spring through to summer here. They can be planted in tyres, sacks, in pots & containers or in the garden. Plant them about 13cm deep and cover with deep mulch. Once the plant is shooting you may need to add more mulch to make sure the potatoes stay out of light. They will be ready for harvest after 3-4months, after the tops have withered.

Now is a good time to plant all the summer vegies – tomatoes, lettuce, Asian greens, capsicum, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, beans, beetroot and carrots will work if they stay out of the hot afternoon sun, onions, and lots of herbs.

And for more gardening information visit the BIEDO website Community Permaculture Webpage

http://www.biedo.org.au/article/44/health-and-wellbeing

ARTICLE 2: Tips to reach 2&5

Many people don’t eat fruit and vegetables because they think that they are too expensive, or they don’t know how to cook with them. Last week we saw the quantities of fruit and vegetables required to purchase each week to meet your 2&5® target. Here are some more ideas to save money and include 2 fruit and 5 vegetables each day.

• Shop around and investigate the best place to buy fruit and veg in your local area: fruit and vegetable shops often provide good quality fruit and vegetables at excellent prices, or look out for specials at the supermarket.

• Always buy fruit and veg when they are in season for the cheapest price.

• Many vegetables can be frozen for several months - buy in bulk when they are on special in season and make your own assorted frozen vegetable mix. Handy for when you don’t have time to cut up extra vegetables.

• Making meat go further with extra vegetables makes sense when you consider that most meat costs between $10-$26/kilo, whereas most vegetables can be obtained for less than $6.00 per kilo.

• Remember that you can use a mixture of canned, frozen and fresh fruit and vegetables to reach your target.

• Compare the price of fruit and vegetables for snacks (under $6.00/kg) compared to commercial snacks such as muesli bars ($15.88/kg), as well as all those ‘extra’ foods such as chocolates ($17.90/kg), chips ($19.90/kg), biscuits ($10.49/kg) and desserts ($11.96/kg).

• Cook in bulk and use up lots of vegetables in each dish (e.g. a large stir-fry or soup). Put any leftovers in the freezer for a quick and easy alternative to takeaways when you don’t feel like cooking or making anything for lunch.

• Start getting into the habit of adding a few extra vegetables to whatever you’re cooking, as well as gradually increasing the amount of vegetables you have on the side – aim for half the plate filled with vegetables.


How do you save money to get more fruit and vegetables into your day? Email in your cost saving fruit and vegetable tips to berneice@rhealth.com.au and we’ll put the most exciting up in next week’s post!

Week 3 Recipe
CITRUS COLESLAW

10 minutes preparation
6 serves of vegies in this recipe

1 orange
3 cups cabbage, shredded
2 spring onions, sliced
1 small green capsicum, seeded and sliced

Dressing
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Grate the orange rind and set aside. Peel and slice orange into segments or rings. Combine orange with cabbage,
spring onions and capsicum in a serving bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and add orange rind.
Pour over salad and mix well.
Serves 4.
Variation
Use pink grapefruit instead of orange. Add sliced kiwi fruit or grated carrot.
For a creamy, low-fat dressing, mix ¼ cup low-fat natural yogurt, ¼ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise, juice of ½ lemon and 1 teaspoon wholegrain or French mustard.


© Healthy Food Fast, State of Western Australia, 2009.

Week One Post

Successful Tucker Boxes Set Up!

This month’s competition, which ends in 11 days (on the 30th of September) is to MMS or email in a picture of your tucker box decorated. The most creative will win a $50 voucher to spend at the Kingaroy Garden Centre.

Here are few that I’ve received so far, see if they inspire you!

Here is one from Hannah, look closely for the redback!








And Wags the Dog watering in his vegetables!


















Week One Recipe

VEGIE LASAGNE

25 minutes preparation + 30 minutes cooking
22 serves of vegies in this recipe

500g pumpkin or sweet potato, peeled and sliced
2 bunches English spinach or young silver beet, washed and sliced
500g reduced-fat ricotta
6 spring onions, sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
12 sheets instant lasagne, softened in hot water
425g jar tomato pasta sauce

Topping
2 eggs
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 cups low-fat milk
Pinch pepper and ground nutmeg to taste
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Steam the pumpkin for 3 minutes, then cool. Plunge spinach into boiling water until wilted and drain well to remove excess liquid. In a large bowl combine drained spinach ricotta, onion and parsley. Arrange 3 sheets of lasagne on the base of an ovenproof pan (33cm x 23cm). Top with 1/3 each of pumpkin, tomato sauce and spinach ricotta mixture. Repeat twice and top with remaining lasagne sheets.

To make topping, break eggs into flour and mix well to remove lumps. Whisk in milk, pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil, whisking until smooth and thickened. Add pepper, pour over top of lasagne and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Serves 6.

Serving suggestion
Cut into squares and serve with a green salad.




© Healthy Food Fast, State of Western Australia, 2009.

Are you getting enough? Fruit and Vegetables that is

ARTICLE 1: Are you really getting enough?

You probably know that fruit and vegetables are good for you, but are you really eating enough to stay healthy and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and bowel cancer? The recommendation is 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each day. The following gives you an idea of how much you need to put in your trolley each week.


2 Adults: 28 pieces of fruit, 70 serves of vegetables.

Fruit:
o 1 kg mandarins (5 serves)
o 1kg apples (6 serves)
o 5 small bananas (5 serves)
o 1 tin fruit (800g) (6 serves)
o 5 kiwifruit (2.5 serves)
o 1 punnet strawberries (3 serves)

Vegetables:
o 500g green beans (10 serves)
o 1 small broccoli (6 serves)
o 1 kg bag carrots (12 serves)
o 500g bag frozen mixed vegetables (10 serves)
o 250g sweet potato (3 serves)
o 1x400g tin baked beans (5 serves)
o ½ small cauliflower (7 serves)
o ½ lettuce (16 serves)
o 500g tomatoes (5 serves)


2 Adults and 2 Children: 42 pieces of fruit, 105 serves of vegetables

Fruit:
o 1.5 kg mandarins (7 serves)
o 1 kg apples (6 serves)
o 1 kg pears (6 serves)
o 5 small bananas (5 serves)
o 1x800g tin fruit (6 serves)
o 10 kiwifruit (5 serves)
o 1 punnet strawberries (3 serves)
o 200g mixed dried fruit (3 serves)

Vegetables:
o 250g green beans (10 serves)
o 2 small heads broccoli (13 serves)
o 500g sweet potato (5 serves)
o 1kg carrots (12 serves)
o 1kg bag frozen mixed vegetables (20 serves)
o 2x400g tins baked beans (10 serves)
o 1/2 cauliflower (15 serves)
o 2 capsicum (4 serves)
o 2 zucchini (8 serves)
o ½ lettuce (8 serves)
o 1 kg tomatoes (8 serves)

Many people think that fruit and vegetables are expensive – when you consider that the above purchases provide the basis for all meals and snacks, you can see that they are really very cheap.
Always buy fruit and vegetables in season to ensure you get the best quality and price.

Print this out and take with you to the supermarket to make sure you're getting enough!

Email in your ideas for increasing your fruit and vegetable intake to berneice@rhealth.com.au and we will list the best ideas in the next post!