Dinner tastes so much better when you have grown it yourself. But if you are new to home growing then you may find it difficult to work out how precisely to use all the produce you grow in your garden.

Tips for Home-Grown Dinners

First of all, here are some simple tips to help you turn the food you grow in your garden into delicious main meals to enjoy with family and friends.

• Make sure you know all the parts of plants you grow that you can eat. (For example, remember that you can eat pea shoots and pea flowers as well as peas and pea pods... and that all of the radish plant is edible – not just the root.)
• Don't forget about other plants in your garden that are edible. There are a wide range of plants commonly grown as ornamentals that are edible plants, and a range of edible weeds too... 

• Onions, garlic and other alliums, and hot peppers, are great for adding more intense flavour to vegetarian or vegan dishes, and herbs and spices growing in your garden also help to add interest and variety.

• Think about colour and texture for delicious dinners, as well as just taste. Think about how you might serve fresh produce raw, and how cooking in different ways will alter the colour and texture of the foods you grow. 
• Make sure you make full use of leftovers, and store and preserve food correctly to prevent any waste and enjoy more meals for only a little more time and effort. 
• Consider batch cooking so you can eat well every night even when you don't necessarily always have the time each day to cook from scratch. 
• If you or a family member does not enjoy a particular crop – try cooking it in a different way, or in a different recipe and they might just come around.

Inspiration for Shaping Healthy Dinners That Are Entirely Home-Grown

Even in a small garden, you will likely be able to grow a wide range of fruits, vegetables and herbs. No matter where you live, you can source a wide range of ingredients from your garden larder. 

But to eat healthily, you will need to think about incorporating grains and pulses into your diet. Even if you do not eat meat, fish or dairy, you may struggle to grow everything you need for a complete meal in your garden. 

The good news is that with a little work, you can grow grains and pulses for a plant-based diet even if you do not have a lot of space. For example, you might be able to grow a small area a wheat or another common grain. But for small gardens, you might also consider growing somewhat more unusual options – like Amaranth, or quinoa, for example. 

And if you can grow peas or beans, you can allow some to mature to use as a pulse as well as eating them green as a vegetable. 

Staple crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes or other tubers can be useful as a base ingredient that can turn delicious home grown produce into a full dinner for you and your family.