Eat Your Greens!!
Eat Your Greens
"Eat your greens," your mother might have said at the dinner table. Or now, your doctor will say this to you if you are lucky to have a doctor who knows about nutrition.
Green Smoothies - Green Drinks - Kale Chips - and so many more recipes and blog posts talking about the value of greens in your diet.
It seems that we almost have to live under a rock to not know about the benefits of including greens into our diet.
But what if I told you that eating your greens is not only nutritious but also delicious?
Would you believe me?
If your answer is yes, I need to say no more.
If your answer is no, I challenge you to use this recipe and then, tell me if you still don't like to eat your greens.
curly kale and small broccoli greens in the background
First: What Kind of Greens Do I Use?
The answer is very simple - whatever you can get your hands on.
Here is a list of possible greens which is not exhaustive:
- Collard Green
- Tree Collard
- Kale
- Curly Kale
- Russian Kale
- Lacinto Kale
- Broccoli Leaves
- Cauliflower Leaves
- Brusselsprout Leaves (younger ones are best)
- Chard
- Nettle
- Sweet Potato Greens
- Amaranth Leaves
- Spinach
As you can see, this is a pretty big list of possibilities. But there are so many more plant varieties you can use.
After trying a few different combinations, you will find the one you like best. The more tender leaves are best when cooked for a short time.
What I Used
For the recipe I am sharing with you, I used Tree Collards from my garden
Some of the kale you see in the first picture.
Russian red kale I traded at a backyard food swap from this lovely lady.
You can see them in the basket on the right.
I also harvested some Broccoli leaves and some of my favorite green at this time of the year.
Yes, you are seeing this right. Some stinging nettles. So yummy!
A Delicious Greens Recipe
Ingredients:
- Dark Leafy Greens
- Garlic
- Green Cabbage
- Brown Onion
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Filtered Water for Boiling
Equipment:
- One Large Pot
- One Large Pan - Cast Iron if you have.
- Sharp Knife and Cutting Board
- Collander, or Large Slotted Spoon
- tongs
First, I took all my greens beside the nettles and washed them thoroughly. Then, I removed all the stems. You could chop them very finely and add them back in or you can give them to your chickens or your compost pile. That is what I did for this batch.
Chop the greens into bite-size pieces. Use way more greens than you think you possibly can eat - they shrink a lot.
Add greens to a large pot filled with filtered water.
Add salt - be generous.
Add peeled whole garlic cloves.
We used 2 heads of garlic for the amount of greens you see in the picture (about 16 cups of tightly packed greens). The pot holds 6 quarts.
Boil for at least one hour - or longer. the greens become very tender.
Half an hour before you want to start the final preparation, add the chopped green cabbage and the nettles.
In the meantime, dice the onion and let sit for at least 10 minutes before using.
Heat your cast iron pan and add olive oil. Add onions and slowly saute until they are translucent.
Add the drained greens and garlic to the pan and sautee long enough until all the greens are mixed with the onion/oil base.
Serve immediately.
As you can see, this dish is so good that it disappeared out of the pan before I had a chance to take a good picture.
A couple of notes.
- Use your cooking liquid to water a plant. It holds lots of nutrients - or drink it yourself.
- The nutritional value will not be at maximum after such a long cooking time. But people who usually say that they hate greens will like this dish. Look at it as a gateway to more nutritious dishes in the "Eat Your Greens" initiated person's future.
- Experiment with different greens to see which ones you like best.
- Plant your own little field of greens like you see below.
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Marianne this is brilliant! Really- such a great post with all the beautiful pics and the recipes (did i spell that correct? Wonderful!
hahaha - don't ask me for correct spelling. I am the worst! Thank you, dear @dutchess. So nice to see you. I have gotten so busy with the freewriters that I have been neglecting my friends. I am so sorry!!
You don't have too dear. Its busy busy busy
I just love this post and you are right any green you can get your hands on is a good one... though I have some favorites such as arugula, moringa, and parsley.
Those, I love too. Having a bit trouble to get a moringa to survive and the arugula and parsley - I love in salads. Well, parsley is so good for everything :)
I agree. parsley goes well with everything. I am sure moringa would do well in san diego. You don't have winter's there either right? Easy to grow and you can harvest leaves after just a few months.
Fantastic post @mariannewest! I too adore greens and can't eat enough of them. Why ever does anyone need persuading to eat them, it baffles me but I accept we're all different in what we find appealing :-) There's some really great tips here, and definitely deserving of its resteem! I have never had a doctor tell me anything about nutrition, but I applaud the doctors who do!
Thank you so much for the resteem!! I too love greens - but so many people don't. If prepared this way, especially with the addition of the green cabbage, they almost taste sweet. 😄
@mariannewest I love this post!❤ I've never heard about Tree Collards but it seems to be very interesting. I love leafy greens too and I add them to my smoothies and juices. In that way they have much more vitamins and natural enzymes. But I agree that not everybody like eat raw leafy greens:( So this recipe may them help:) I invite You to my post about tofu and tempeh, it may interests You:) https://steemit.com/food/@ilovelean/do-you-know-what-is-the-difference-between-tofu-and-tempeh-which-is-better
I am all about smoothies as well. But sometimes, people need an entry to a food they perceive as not so delicious :)
OK, I am not convinced that it is good. You will have to cook it for me and force it down my throat, accompanied by some pastries, preferably.
hahaha
I am wondering if you have tried Red Ursa kale? I grew some of that variety this past year and I really liked it a lot! I also grew the Scotch Blue Curly which I believe is what you have pictured. ?
Another benefit to cooking greens is it removes the Goitrogens (which block Iodine absorbtion) even though it does remove some of the nutriens as you have stated. :)
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I will have to try it out!
I haven't tried the Red Ursa Kale - the one I have came without name :)
hahaha - no secret - just lazy gardeners who do not label things like seeds :) Makes sense that Russian varieties would do well in a short growing season. Here, they might get too hot... :)
Just before reading this I had gotten an idea of making green tea using the spare from my broccoli boiling water. How green is that! And it was actually pretty good!
If you are boiling veggies - the water is very nutritious. If you don't drink it yourself - at least feed some plants with it. Good for you that you had it as broccoli tea :)
I thought it must be quite nutritious and would've been shame to throw it away. It's perfect for my flu with the green tea!
Oh no! You are sick? Hope you will be better soon!!
Ah, yes. These things usually take only few days.
I love greens..and your pot of cooked greens look amazing! I would eat the whole pot if it was in front of me...
If you were here - I would cook you one. :)
People always talk about eating their greens but I know a lot of people who live very long lives without eating them. I try to eat healthy when I can but sometimes I wonder if eating your greens is really something that actually extends your life or if it only gives you a few trace vitamins and minerals here and there.
I think there are so many factors involved in good health - including our mental attitude, stress level, environmental pollution and the list goes on.
I think greens are being promoted because they have so many nutrients and so many people eat very little fresh anything. But eating greens like cooked in this recipe - boiled for a long time, is probably not all that beneficial. It gives some fiber and so forth.
I am just saying that people might become open to eating more - or other veggies. and it all depends where you live as well. I think in tropical climates, greens and such really need to be cooked since there is all kinds of diseases one can get. Like Hawaii has a snail if it gets on lettuce and you eat it - it makes you very sick...
It's such a big topic. but we know that there are people who smoked all their lives and did fine - but way more who didn't do so well...
Long answer - no conclusion :)
You make it look like it might ALMOST be good.....So I'm giving you an upvote for that simple fact alone.
hahaha - it actually is good 😛
and thank you for the upvote :)