Extension Educators Offer Vegetarian Diet, Gardening Tips
Contact: Kate Yerxa, (207) 581-3109; Barbara Murphy, (207) 743-6329
ORONO — As many consumers look to their backyard gardens to counter rising grocery prices, many people may be looking to bring more hearty vegetables to the table and cut back on pricey meats. Two University of Maine Cooperative Extension specialists are available to advise how to get the most nutritional produce out of a garden by selecting naturally fortified plants.
Choosing vegetarian meals is the perfect way to eat well with out spending a lot of money, according to Kate Yerxa, Extension’s Orono-based statewide educator for nutrition and physical activity, and Barbara Murphy, a gardening expert and Extension educator in the Oxford County office. Increased dependence on vegetables also reduces our carbon footprint by cutting back on meat consumption, and can reduce cardiovascular health risks, they say.
People become vegetarians for several different reasons, including health benefits, economical reasons, ethical reasons, religious reasons and ecological reasons. In general, a vegetarian diet is low in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber, according to Yerxa and Murphy.
Different types of vegetarian diets include: lacto-ovo-vegetarians (plant foods, milk, milk products and eggs); lacto-vegetarians (plant foods, milk and milk products); ovo-vegetarians (plan foods and eggs); pesco/pollo-vegetarians (meats like seafood and chicken); and vegan (only plants), according to Yerxa.
Planning meals to meet nutrient needs can take practice, and there are some key nutrients to pay special attention to. These include choosing vegetables rich in protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B12 and zinc.
One crop that can be grown in Maine that is a large part of a vegetarian diet are dried beans. Dried beans have a long history in Maine and nothing speaks louder than a Bean Hole Bean Supper. Dry beans are relatively easy to grow and have similar shape and size as standard green beans. They require a long growing season (90-110 days) and do best in full-sun in well-drained soils. When the soil is warm, around 70 degrees, plant the seeds 2-inches apart, 1-inch deep and in rows 24 inches apart, Murphy says.
Harvest when at least 90 percent of the leaves have fallen and pods are dry. For small quantities, the beans can be separated by hand, or placed in a pillowcase or burlap bag and gently stepped on to shattering the pod and releasing the beans. Some popular varieties include yellow eye, soldier beans and black beans.
Extension offers a comparison of the cost of an ounce equivalent of dry beans to animal proteins:
– A quarter cup of cooked dry beans costs 6 cents per 1-ounce equivalent.
– A quarter cup of canned beans costs 18 cents per 1-ounce equivalent.
– An ounce of chicken breast costs about 21 cents.
– An ounce of London broil is about 31 cents, and an ounce of lean ground beef costs about 26 cents.
A family of four that substitutes dry beans for ground beef for one meal a week can save $2.40 a week or $124.80 a year. Dry beans can improve health while keeping more money in the pocketbook, according to Yerxa and Murphy.
Yerxa can be reached at (207) 581-3109; Murphy is available at (207) 743-6329.