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Home Vegetable Gardens Go Low Carb

Better pass up the apple pie, skip the chocolate cake and head right to the broccoli, cucumbers and spinach if you are avoiding carbohydrates.  Commonly referred to as carbs, they are the topic of almost every meal especially if you are sticking to one of the trendy diets.

Perhaps you haven’t though of vegetables full of water, vitamins and all the good stuff your body needs as a source of carbohydrates but one five inch sweet potatostacks up to a three inch slice of apple pie with about 36 grams of carbs each.  A cup each of boiled potatoes and southern peas are not slackers either also packed with 23 and 30 grams of carbohydrates respectively which is more than one dinner roll.

“Dieters can reduce their carbohydrate uptake significantly by eating the low carb vegetables,” say Dee Wilkins (cq) nutrition specialist with the University of Florida IFAS Extension in Orlando.  She says carbohydrate are one of the major nutrients that every body needs consisting of sugars and starches used by the body to produce energy.  Excess amounts are stored as glycogen in the muscles or converted to fat.

But don’t cut back on your vegetables to reduce fat warns Wilkins, just be more selective as to the types you eat.  Vegetables also contain fiber, lots of vitamins including A and C, plus minerals needed for good health.

“Variety is the secret – Don’t eat the same thing every day.  The greater the variety of vegetables you eat the better the chance of getting the needed nutrients.”

So, what are some the really low carb vegetables?  Dieters could eat three cups of vitamin A filled carrots, seven cups of vitamin C containing cauliflower, or five cups of iron rich spinach before equaling that slice of apple pie.

Probably no one is going to eat this much of any one vegetable at a sitting, as a half cup is usually considered a normal serving.  Still these and many more vegetables are low in carbs but high in other nutrients your body needs.  But what about corn weighing in with 31 grams of carbs to a cup or a medium baked potato at 32 grams?  You could eat less or you could hope for a miracle like a low carb potato?

Your request has been granted says Chad Hutchinson (cq) vegetable specialist with the University of Florida IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department in Gainesville.  Starting in January a ‘low carb spud’ produced by Florida growers arrives at the grocery store. 

“It’s one of the higher carb vegetables that doesn’t get much respect from dieters,” says Hutchinson.  “Hopefully the new potato is going to let people eat potatoes and have a little less guilt.”

The yet unnamed variety with thirty percent fewer carbs arrived at the Florida research center via the Netherlands and has been evaluated for five growing seasons.  Hutchinson says it’s a good producer yielding up to fist size six to eight ounce potatoes with a cream colored skin and light yellow flesh.

Low carbs is just one claim to fame as this potato is a good baker and boiler.  When compared with the variety Sebago which Hutchinson says is the “gold standard for flavor – folks feel it’s better or equal in flavor.”

Late summer and fall begins a new growing season for all of Florida’s vegetables whether in commercial fields or small gardens.  Growing your own low carb vegetables might be a good reason to start home plantings to include beets, broccoli, snap beans, carrots, cauliflower, celery collards, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, peppers, radish, spinach, summer squash, tomatoes and turnips.

Another good reason to plant is because fresh vegetables taste better – there is a remarkable difference, says John McQueen (cq) agriscience (cq) teacher at Meadow Woods Middle School in Orlando.  He also notes fresh vegetables smell better too.

“When you pull a fresh carrot you get a special aroma.  You don’t get this when you go to the store and buy them in a bag.  When growing your own, there is a stronger connection between you and the food.”

He also explains you don’t need a lot of space to have a good garden.  In one 60 square foot area tended by students enough greens were raised to feed 80 people every two weeks.  The harvests included cut and come again lettuce, arugula and mustard greens.  The plantings lasted for three cuttings before they began to decline and were replanted.

“Some students took to the gardening project from the start while others were less enthusiastic -- some didn’t want to get their hands dirty,” says McQueen.  “But in the end they all liked the harvests.”

McQueen teaches organic gardening techniques and says the sands are a real shock to first time gardeners.  “They are not used to what we call soil.  They think of it as beach sand.”

Sands do produce good crops and have excellent drainage.  McQueen suggests small plot gardeners enrich the sands with manures and compost.  They should also use a mulch to help keep the soil cool, retain moisture, replenish the organic matter and supply some nutrients.

Florida gardeners can begin nine months of planting in August with the warm season crops of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers and more.  About the time these produce their yields in October and November the cooler weather arrives and broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips and greens can be added to the garden.

McQueen reminds us and his students, gardening takes a little time. “If you are not going to give it attention your not going to get good yields.”  Follow are a few tips he says should ensure a harvest.

(Tom MacCubbin, Orange County - Vegetarian 04-08)