While a person may look well-fed, it’s not a guarantee that they’re receiving proper nutrition. They may be struggling with what is known as “hidden hunger,” a form of undernutrition.
Hidden hunger can be caused by a poor diet, disease, or can occur during pregnancy and lactation when the body’s demand for micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is elevated. The condition affects the health and development of children, as well as normal physical and mental function in adults. Hidden hunger can even result in death.
According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, hidden hunger affects one in three people worldwide. Although the condition is prevalent in parts of Africa and the South Asian subcontinent, deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron and iodine are seen in even the most developed countries. And with food prices continuing to rise, consumers are often choosing lower-cost, highly processed, energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods and drinks, which can lead to obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.
It’s for these reasons that, in 2014, five Clemson University students created “The Tiger Gardens” under the guidance of their new professor, Dr. Dil Thavarajah. Thavarajah came to the university that same year with a background in addressing hidden hunger through her international work with pulse crops for Africa and Asia, to alleviate the iron, zinc, selenium, and carotenoid deficiencies in those areas.
Pulses are the dry, edible seeds of plants in the legume family that include chickpeas, lentils, dry peas, and beans.
“Dr. Dil,” as she’s affectionately known on campus, said these five students expressed to her a strong interest in helping mitigate hidden hunger, especially among those in our state who struggle with obesity. According to SC DHEC, obesity affects two out of three adults and one out of three children in South Carolina.
The Tiger Gardens are ten experimental beds, designed by a Clemson engineering student, and situated next to Dr. Dil’s lab. They were brought to life with the mission of educating families on creating a home garden that will yield year-round crop production, with vegetables for each season of the year, for a five-member household.
“In the fall, they can have leafy greens, peas, kale, collards, beets, and carrots. You can have broccoli, cauliflower, and garden peas in the spring, and in the summer, you can have sweet potatoes,” which Dr. Dil says can be harvested in the fall. The Tiger Gardens are currently growing zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, lentils, and leafy vegetables, then later will feature sweet potatoes, and in the fall, will feature a mixed garden.
Students from nearby Clemson Elementary, Central Academy, and Pendleton Elementary were trained on how to care for the gardens and continue to maintain them, with help from Clemson Extension.
So, what meal options do people have that can satisfy both important nutritional needs and a modest budget? To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Tiger Gardens, a handful of students from Dr. Dil’s most recent class created a free online cookbook that showcases affordable and nutrient-rich pulse crops like beans, chickpeas, lentils, and peas, foods that are rich in protein content but low on cost.
The Tiger Gardens: Pulse Cookbook not only shows the nutritional information for each recipe, but also lists the estimated cost per serving. Some of the high-nutrient, low-cost meals include recipes for Sri Lankan red lentil curry, spring pea & cheese tortellini, and chicken tortilla soup.
“Humans need 55 or more essential elements for general well-being. More than 600 million people are affected by micronutrient malnutrition,” said Dr. Dil. “We have a corridor of obesity in our state, so we wanted to promote people to eat healthy food. And one of the ways of adding healthy food into your diet is not only spending money on expensive meat, we can have these plant-based proteins, or ‘poor man’s meat.’”
In fact, Dr. Dil has developed an organic pulse crop breeding program for the state of South Carolina. “I breed organic peas, lentils, and chickpeas. These are new crops for South Carolina," she says.
So, rather than leaving their land fallow from January to May, farmers can now plant these pulse crops instead. What’s more, pulse crops get their nitrogen from the air, which eliminates the need, and cost, of fertilizer.
As for nutritional value, Dr. Dil notes that pulses have a protein content of about 20 to 25 grams per 100 grams of a serving. “About 80% of this protein is digestible, and it’s good for you.” She says pulses are rich in low-digestible carbohydrates, which are released in the bloodstream very slowly, preventing blood sugars from spiking. “Also, this carbohydrate is high in probiotic carbohydrates, which is a substrate for your probiotics.” She says those who are sensitive to gluten also benefit from pulse crops because they are naturally gluten-free.
Will there be any future Tiger Gardens cookbooks? Dr. Dil is already making plans to expand the menu. While the first cookbook focused on entrees and starters, her upcoming class will be exploring baking, and ways to create meals and gluten-free breads using pulse crop-based flour, culminating with a culinary class scheduled for next April.
