June | 2014 | The Patrick O'Brien Agency

We are a fruit and veggie lovin’ family. We genuinely like the taste of most of them – especially in the summer. We make salads, grill them, snack on them at the park, take to pitch-ins, etc. We know they’re good for us, but it was eye-opening to learn WHY they are good for us. Read on to see how you can prepare the following fruits and veggies to maximize their flavor and healthy benefits.

Asparagus
Lightly grill then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar this summer. Asparagus is high in fiber, folic acid, potassium, vitamins A and C and glutathione (a phytochemical with antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties).

Avocados
Add to your salad, sandwich or alone on whole wheat toast for breakfast. One ounce of an avocado contains 20 different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. It’s rich in monounsaturated fat, which may lower bad “LDL” cholesterol and reduce risk for heart disease.

Blackberries
Add to salads, smoothies, yogurt and oatmeal. Blackberries contain antioxidants, are high in vitamin C and the seeds are high in fiber.

Brussel Sprouts
These can be lightly grilled after splitting in half and lightly drizzled with olive oil. These veggies are high in vitamins A and C, iron, potassium and fiber.

Butternut Squash
Add to pasta dishes, risottos and soups. It’s rich in complex carbohydrates and vitamins A and C and it’s a good source of beta carotene, magnesium, calcium and potassium.

Figs
Rich in potassium and fiber, try adding dried figs to trail mix with some almonds and whole-wheat cereal.

Kale
Use in smoothies or add them to entrees in place of spinach or cabbage. Kale is packed with vitamins A, C and E. Kale is high in antioxidants and also includes important minerals manganese, iron, calcium and potassium.

Pomegranate
Toss some of the seeds on your salad this summer. They are high in antioxidants and rich in potassium, vitamin C, and fiber.

Spinach
Blend into smoothies, saute with garlic and olive oil, or use as your salad base. Spinach is an excellent source of folate, iron, and vitamins A and K.

Strawberries
Eat alone or on salads or make a fruit kebab with other fruits like grapes and melon. This fruit is rich in Vitamin C, folic acid and antioxidant flavonoids thought to be protective against stroke and cancer.

Swiss Chard
Use in side dishes, salads and soups. It’s a blood sugar stabilizer and one of the world’s most nutritious vegetable. It contains magnesium, vitamins A and C, and can aid as an anti-inflammatory and detoxifyer.

Tomatoes
Sliced on a sandwich, chopped into a salad, added to omelets or skewered and grilled, tomatoes are a summer staple. Huge in antioxidants and rich in beta carotene, tomatoes also contain vitamin C, manganese and vitamin E.

How many of these items are you already nibbling on this spring? Which one will you incorporate into your menu this season?

– S.O.
The Patrick O’Brien Agency – Fishers, IN

If your kitchen is developing an odor and you’ve taken out the trash, it could be your garbage disposal. Even if you run your garbage disposal until the last shred of food is gone, and you let the water run the recommended time, you can still wind up with an out-of control science experiment that stinks up your kitchen.

The reason is – some food is going to stick to the inside of the grinding chamber, and it’s going to decay. You can clean the chamber by grinding ice and lemon rinds, adding baking soda or rinsing with vinegar and water. Or, you can add commercial cleaners like Disposer Care, which is available at discount stores and most home centers.

If there is still an odor after cleaning the grinding chamber, you’ll need to attack the underside of the splash guard. Cleaning the splash guard is easier than you think. you don’t even have to remove it. Just clean it with a toothbrush and cleaner as shown.

Dip an old toothbrush in antibacterial grease-cutting kitchen cleaner and lift up one corner of the splash guard. Scrub off the crud and rinse with cold water. Repeat with each flap until it’s totally clean and rinsed.

Simple as that!

To prevent future odors and to ensure all the food particles are cleared away, don’t turn off the garbage disposal as soon as the grinding noises stop. It is better to leave the garbage disposal on (with the water running) for several seconds after the grinding noises subside, as there may still be small particles in the disposal unit which have not yet been cleared away.

– S.O.
The Patrick O’Brien Agency – Fishers, IN