How do vegetables save calories? Three ways! Growing, preparing, and eating!Here is a fun calculation example to show how vegetables can save over 3600 calories per week. That's one pound per week!

• Half the plate - make half the dinner plate veggies (nonstarchy) and reduce dinner calories by half or about 2,800 calories per week.
• Chop and prepare veggies for 30 minutes per day and burn 500 calories per week.
• Garden your veggies for 60 minutes a week and burn 323 calories.

Speaking of growing veggies, you will want to visit dyerfamilyorganicfarm.com website to learn about grow- ing garlic, garlic varieites and cooking with garlic from Diana Dyer, RD, who has been involved with advis- ing us since the beginning?of our publication. Diana has beaten breast cancer three times and she has sold over 100,000 copies of her book, A Dietitian?s Cancer Story, which is still in print?and updated as of 2010 at cancerrd.com. Diana is working on various projects to promote local farming. She has shifted her focus to prevention in the health care spectrum and is active with the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Practice Group with Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She wrote the HEN school-to-farm program on their website and recommends reading the AND Position Paper on Conserving National Resources.Our favorite article from her farm website is about garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are the green tops that grow from the garlic bulb. They have a fresh flavor and are garlicky but with a more mild flavor and texture. She has shared many ideas to prepare them including using them in dips, stir fry dishes, vinegars, and with roasted chicken. They are often stocked in Asian stores but are becoming more available in farmer?s markets and fresh food markets. And if you live in Michigan, you will be lucky enough to buy hers in one of the 7 local farmer?s markets.It is not too late to start your own vegetable garden. Whether you have a raised bed or a container in your backyard you can grow many different vegetables for your temperature zone.?The best place to start is planthardiness.ars.usda.gov to find out your zone to buy seeds?or plants that will thrive. Visit garden.org for great instruction and how-tos.