I'm always talking about cooking healthy, nutritional foods in your own home, but what does that really mean? March is Nutrition Month and I'll be posting on 10 essential nutrients, what they do for your body and how to get them. There will be a recipe every day highlighting each nutrient.

Vitamin B6 is important in helping the immune system produce antibodies. It also helps the nerve cells communicate effectively. Vitamin B6, like folate is also important in the production of red blood cells. It also plays a role in blood-sugar control.

So far in this series I haven't discussed the issue of vitamin supplements. Personally, I have never taken vitamins, but I have a varied diet with lots of legumes and green leafy vegetables. I get all the nutrients I need from my diet. I realize that this isn't true for everyone and some people will require some additional help, especially children who may be picky eaters.

This was one of the few areas of disagreement that my husband and I had over raising our kids. He was keen on vitamin pills and I wasn't. Part of my objection was based on the way vitamins are presented to children, in colourful pills shaped like an animal or cartoon characters that look and taste like candy. Sure enough, one day my husband mistakenly left the container on the bedside table where my toddler daughter could get them. She liked the taste of them, and she ate a few. A panicked call to the poison line at the Hospital for Sick Kids resulted in a unhelpful lecture on being a responsible parent, but they finally determined that she hadn't eaten enough to cause any problem. That was the end of vitamin supplements in our family. As our kid's doctor said, "Never heard of a child having a lethal dose of carrots".

What to eat to get Vitamin B6: beef, pork, poultry, fish, whole grains, avocado, bananas, potatoes

This is a very nice recipe I got from a wonderful Jewish cookbook that my sister-in-law gave me. I hadn't realized that there was a sizable Jewish community in India and this is a traditional recipe from Mumbai. This is a wonderful make-ahead dish because it is even better the next day. That`s my fantastic pickled asparagus and pickled cauliflower on the plate as well.

INGREDIENTS