Eat Your Greens!

If you’re like my husband and me, you just can’t live without eating leafy greens. But if you’re not like this, please read on to see why they are so important to us.

A good portion of our veggie garden is taken up with leafy greens. The picture in this blog is from our garden. We grow all varieties of kale, collards, Swiss Chard, and a few kinds of Asian greens like senposai. We cook them almost every day of the week and they are the first thing we go for when we’ve been traveling and need to rebalance our systems.

When people think of leafy greens, they often think of salad greens like lettuce and spinach. We also love these, and grow lettuce and arugula in our garden as well. However, the leafy greens (like those above, plus mustard greens, dandelion greens, and turnip greens) when cooked, give you a large amount of nutrients that are not so available in raw form. Take spinach as an example. It would be hard to eat a whole bag of spinach at once. But when cooked down, it would be easy to eat two or three times as much as you could consume in a salad.

Why are greens so good for you?

First, green is in the middle of the color spectrum. Anything green will therefore have a balancing effect on the body and mind. Green foods are rich in chlorophyll, which helps prevent cancer and has antioxidant effects.

Second, greens have many health benefits because they are so nutrient-rich.

According to USDA Agricultural Research Service  dark green leafy vegetable are rich in Vitamins A, C, E and K as well as B Vitamins. They have high levels of the minerals iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. They are also abundant in carotenoids and antioxidants that protect cells and help block early stages of cancer. They are high in fiber and low in carbs, sodium, and cholesterol.

According to Baptist Health, leafy greens also support vision and skin health, boost the immune system, and help maintain a healthy weight. Amy Meyers, M.D. lists among the benefits of greens: supports brain function and strong bones, aids in healthy aging, help regulate blood sugar levels, and support optimal gut health. Studies have shown that even eating 2-3 servings of leafy greens a week may lower the risk for stomach, breast, and skin cancer as well as reduce the risk of heart disease.

Because of their high content of antioxidants, green leafy vegetables may be one of the best cancer-preventing foods. Studies have shown that eating 2 to 3 servings of green leafy vegetables per week may lower the risk of stomach, breast and skin cancer. These same antioxidants have also been proven to decrease the risk of heart disease.

Ways To Cook Leafy Greens

Leafy greens can be sautéed, stir fried, steamed, added to soups, quiches, and omelettes. Spinach and Swiss chard cook up very quickly, while the tougher greens like kale and collards take more time to cook down. Be sure to remove the stems of the tougher greens.

Greens can easily be added when cooking other veggies, and tossed into soups. Some possible combinations of cooking greens with other veggies include:

Greens and beets

Greens and sweet potatoes (orange or purple)

Greens and carrots

Greens with okra and corn

Greens with summer or winter squash

Greens with string beans and red cabbage

Or, get creative and put together your own combinations, based on what’s in season and what you like to eat. Enjoy their wonderful flavor while you aid your health and well-being!