A Green by Any of Its Names Has Huge Health Benefits

12 Tips for Eating More Dark, Leafy Greens This Year

I prefer to approach nutrition by focusing first not on which foods to eliminate or avoid, but rather on those you can ADD to your diet to help you feel great and enhance your health and wellbeing. My list is long, but at the start of this new year, I want to focus on one simple thing: dark leafy greens.

Most dark leafy greens are excellent sources of:

• Vitamin A: important for healthy skin and vision and supporting normal immune function

• Vitamin C: helps synthesize collagen for healthy skin, key in wound healing, and aids in plant-based iron absorption

• Vitamin K: supports bone health and helps maintain a healthy gut

• Iron: helps transport oxygen throughout your body and maintain energy levels

• Plus, magnesium, calcium, potassium, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and many other nutrients!

Dark leafy greens are also nutrient dense and full of fiber, which has so many health benefits, including helping to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Special bonus: There are bunches of dark leafy greens to choose from! Most of us think about spinach, arugula, and perhaps kale…but don’t forget about swiss chard, beet and carrot greens, mustard greens, collard greens, water cress, bok choy, broccoli raab, and others.

Perhaps you’ll join me in picking one new green to try each week this month?

 And if you’re wondering how to eat them, I’ve got that covered too.  Salads are always an option, but why stop there? 

Here are 12 ideas for incorporating more greens into your meals and snacks: 

1.     Add a handful to a smoothie (try banana, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, almond milk, almond butter and a tablespoon of ground flaxseed).

2.     Add chopped greens to your favorite soups and casseroles.

3.     Add pureed or finely chopped greens to sauces (such as marinara).

4.     Pesto! The combinations of greens, nuts, and flavored olive oils are endless.

5.     Make a chimichurri sauce and have a dollop on chicken, eggs, pork, rice and beans, etc.

6.     Sauté greens with a bit of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and eat them as a side or with a poached or fried egg for breakfast or lunch.

7.     What better way to start your day than with healthful, fiber-full greens? Add them to omelets.

8.     Stick ‘em in sandwiches, wraps, burritos, and more.

9.     Chop them into cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with some garlic, lemon juice, and a drizzle of olive oil for a healthful dip for crackers and veggies.

10.  Leafy wraps—skip the bread or taco shells and use your dark leafy greens as the shell, bread, or wrap.

11.  Make kale, chard, or other green chips. Need a salty fix and a healthful alternative to potato or tortilla chips? Make your own green chips or buy them prepackaged (we love the Brad’s brand of kale chips at our house).

12.  Kale or chard salad. These hearty greens are more robust, which means you can make a salad—dressing and all—and continue to eat it for 3-4 days without turning into the wilted, oily heap that’s common with more tender lettuces and greens.

Be sure to let me know which new greens you try or if you want to share one of your favorite ways to prepare them. 

Cheers to more greens!

Elizabeth