Getting More Greens
or: 10 Ways to Eat More Greens
Green leafy vegetables (eg lettuces, kale, spnach, rocket, boo choy, dandelion, collard, rainbow chard, micro greens etc) are some of the planet's most nutritious foods, and for good health, we need to be eating them every day. In fact, I recommend eating at least 1-2 cups or 100g of them daily. Do you want to lose weight, have more energy, have a clear mind, live to 100? Eat more greens! They are full of minerals, Vit C, Vit K, fibre, calcium, disease-fighting phytochemicals. All long lived cultures eat plenty of greens.
Here are 10 ways to add more greens to your life. You will thank yourself for it- once you start, they get a bit addictive because you feel so good.
1. Green smoothie. Make a smoothie with greens (eg rich green lettuce, baby spinach, kale), banana (or mango, or frozen cherries or berries etc) and water or coconut water. Blend and enjoy. You can barely taste the greens!
2. Green juice- fresh vegetable juices are wonderful nutrition blasts for your body, and you can base a juice on celery or cucumber, and then add other vegetables such as fennel, lime or lemon, and herbs such as parsley. Add a green apple if you like and enjoy! Very refreshing. My fav: celery, cucumber, lemon, apple, parsley.
3. Add to mashed potato/sweet potato/parsnip- chop up some herbs such as parsley, or some baby spinach or kale, and toss into your mashed potatoes before you mash them- yum! And pretty too!
4. Add to grains. Add some leafy greens to your rice, quinoa or millet- greens such as spinach and herbs go well. Add in the last 5 minutes of cooking so that they remain vibrantly green.
5. Stirfries. A good stirfry with sugar snap peas, broccoli, bok choi and a tasty sauce, is a great way to eat your greens. Here is a great recipe with in depth instructions.
6. Salads. Of course salads are a great way to eat your greens. Instead of iceberg lettuce, which has very little nutrition, use baby spinach, mixed lettuce leaves, or cos lettuce, as a base for your salad. Then add an assortment of other vegetables such as red capsicum, yellow capsicum, sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, fresh herbs, baby tomatoes etc. You can also add fruit to a salad- such as grapes, chopped mango or berries. Add a simple homemade dressing from orange juice, garlic and avocado, and you have a delicious meal or part of a meal. Here is some inspiration.
7. Kale Chips. Are a thing. Check them out in some of your trendier food places, or dehydrate your own. Delicious. Here is a simple recipe for the oven.
8. Soup. Most soups can be made more nutritious with the addition of greens. Here is one amazing cooked green soup.
9. A simple cooked greens recipe. Fry a diced onion and a diced clove of garlic in some olive oil or a little water till a light golden colour. Wash and chop up a full bunch of greens (spinach, bok choy, kale) and leaving them still with some water on them, toss them in the pan. At this stage add a splash of a sauce such as tamari, Braggs Liquid Aminos, coconut aminos teriyaki, oyster sauce, Japanese mirin or any other favourite sauce, and put the lid on. Within a few minutes the greens will have wilted. When they are still a lovely bright colour but cooked, mix well and serve. A few drops of toasted sesame oil adds a delicious touch.
10. Raw soup recipe. This one is surprisingly delicious and a regular in our house! It is a great way for anyone to eat a lot of raw leafy greens. Take a big bunch of washed or homegrown greens- spinach works well- Add to blender along with one clove of garlic, one large tomato or a punnet or tomatoes, a celery stick, one orange squeezed, and half an avocado. I often add a chopped mango. Blend well and serve immediately. This one comes from the Medical Medium.
And here are some websites full of recipes to inspire you in new ways to add leafy greens to your meals.