March is Nutrition Month! Ingredients for a Healthier Tomorrow

What are the most important ingredients to your diet?

Culture, community, mental health, physical health, knowledge, sustainability, fun, excitement, curiosity, access, affordability, …

How does the Health Promotion Tower Garden work? The Science of Growing Greens Indoors

March is Nutrition Month: Ingredients for a Healthier Future

This article highlights the ingredients of sustainability, local access, and mental health

The Health Promotion (HP) Tower Garden project kicked off mid-2021.

The HP team has had a great time engaging with members, providing greens to all and answering questions about how the tower functions! Let’s dive into the science of aeroponics.

The unique aspect of aeroponics is that it uses only nutrient water to feed the plants, there is no soil involved. This makes the process very clean, uses less water and produces plants much quicker than with soil.

“The increasing interest in aeroponics requires a consideration of how to make these systems more sustainable and explore them on a larger scale. Food waste, biomass residues or other organic waste can be collected and used for local green energy production through a process called anaerobic digestion. The digester produces biogas converted into heat and electricity for plant grow light. The digestate, a co-product of the anaerobic digestion is an organic fertilizer able to supply nutrients to the aeroponic system. In addition, a rainwater harvesting system can be installed to meet water needs. It is possible to combine all these elements in a closed-loop system. These types of systems have been designed and constructed in Scandinavian countries. They are suitable for cold climate regions and allow us to enjoy aeroponics products throughout the year.”

Mariya Marinova, P.Eng., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada

This method of growing food is unlocking a fascinating new way to provide healthy and nutritious food in unique settings which are otherwise impossible to grow food in (Allen, 2015) (Chatterjee, 2020).

Community gardening has been a social asset in battling disconnect and poor mental wellbeing particularly during isolation. Incorporating green spaces indoors is a tangible way to bring teams together, change up routine and provide a relaxing area for everyone (Egrer, 2022).

Health Promotion, Cold Lake Alberta, was the first Base to incorporate Tower Gardens into their environment and they did so with great success!

Health Promotion Kingston has a Tower Garden, affectionately dubbed the GROWcery Tower (thank-you Instagram followers!), at the Base Gym and the CANEX as well as one available for Units to loan for 60-day period. In 2021, Health Promotion provided over 160 bags of greens to CAF members and their families over the course of 6 months.

Breathe new life into the Unit foyer or Canteen, request a Tower Garden here.

Improve health/performance
A welcoming space to relax
Strengthen the team by working on a new initiative together
Free lunch!

References

Allen, L. (2015). Growing in the city: Analyzing public urban agriculture in Ottawa (Doctoral dissertation, Carleton University). https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/0cb87d76-51f4-46c5-80eb-dc90c5ed42cd/etd_pdf/ce533d85431531d8f20def2207cd4e3e/allen-growinginthecityanalyzingpublicurbanagriculture.pdf

Chatterjee, A., Debnath, S., & Pal, H. (2020). Implication of Urban Agriculture and Vertical Farming for Future Sustainability. In Urban Horticulture-Necessity of the Future. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/71024

Egerer, M., Lin, B., Kingsley, J., Marsh, P., Diekmann, L., & Ossola, A. (2022). Gardening can relieve human stress and boost nature connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban forestry & urban greening, 68, 127483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127483

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Vitamix 4×4 Recipes

March is Nutrition Month: Ingredients for a Healthier Future.

This article highlights the ingredients of food skills, curiosity, and fun!

Join any Health Promotion program or event now until the end of March for your chance to win a VITAMIX! Your opportunities to get a ballot include:

All HP programs, trainings, and workshops
PT Trivia Challenge
Food and Mood Cooking Demo
GROWcery Tower Harvests
Vitamix Demos
Unit Pop-Ups

Multiple entries permitted

4×4 Vitamix Recipes

Simply add the ingredients to a blender and hit start!

With the power of a Vitamix, you’ll have a great meal in record time!

Breakfast: Smoothie

1 large banana
1 1/2 cups milk of choice
3–4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 cups spinach

Level-Up: Swap your frozen fruit daily for balance and diversity in your diet

Snack: Hummus

https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/Recipes/Hummus?referer_st=hummus&sc=site

2 (850 g) can chickpeas, with liquid from 1 can
¼ cup (35 g) sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, optional
½ lemon, peeled, halved
Spice Mix: 1 small garlic clove, peeled, sliced/1 teaspoon ground cumin/½ teaspoon salt, optional

Level-Up: Turn this into a dressing by thinning it with more lemon

Lunch: Sweet Potato Soup

https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/recipes/sweet-potato-soup

¼ (45 g) small onion, peeled
2 (540 g) sweet potato, cooked
1 (200 g) medium apple, halved, seeded
1 (200 g) medium carrot
3 cups (720 ml) vegetable broth

Level-Up: You don’t even need to heat it with a Vitamix! Blend in hemp seeds for protein

Dinner: Pasta Sauce

16 medium (1.4 kg) ripe roma tomatoes, halved
1 small (80 g) carrot
¼ cup (60 ml) tomato paste
1 small (120 g) yellow onion, peeled
Spice mix: 2 garlic cloves, peeled/2 teaspoons dried basil/2 teaspoons dried oregano/1 teaspoon kosher salt, optional

Level-Up: Freeze in silicon ice cube trays and add to the pan in serving sizes

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Member Feature: Reviving the Victory Garden with Modular Raised Gardens

March is Nutrition Month: Ingredients for a Healthier Future : This article highlights the ingredients of sustainability, family time, and fun!

Meet The Miller Family

What inspired you to build a raised garden bed last spring? 
We were inspired to grow a garden because of the pandemic. We wanted to try and grow some fresh stuff to brighten up the second summer of lockdown.

Why was it important to be modular?
We live in CFHA housing so it was important for us to have a garden that is modular so that it could easily be taken down next posting and set up again at our new place.

What did you plant?
We planted broccoli, tomatoes, Swiss chard, parsley, Cucumber, chives, carrots, and dill

What did you enjoy the most? 
We enjoyed fresh homegrown veggies and the excitement of seeing them grow from the seed.

Will you grow another garden this year?
Yes, we will grow a garden this year and we are thinking of adding more planters!

Anything else you would like to share with other military families considering raised gardens?
Growing a garden was a lot of fun! I found it gave me something to do while my husband was deployed, it also gave my 3 kids something to look forward to. They really enjoyed what we grew more because it was something we shared taking care of.

Additional reading: The Military Benefits of Sustainable Farming

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Request your Unit Nutrition Month Briefing today!