Great, Green, Glorious Greens

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Great, Green, Glorious Greens by Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

If you live in the South, you know what greens are— collards, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, creasy greens. If all of this sounds like Greek to you, listen up. There’s a fully nutritious, taste treat waiting for you at your produce stand!

Some foods just happen to be more nutritionally dense than other foods—greens are such a food. Take Iceberg lettuce for example—please.

This stuff is essentially water and not much more nutritionally speaking.

There are much better options.

The key is the color. Dark, green leafy stuff always packs more of a nutritional punch than the wimpy, light green stuff.

And a perfect example of that is Greens, capital G. These nutrient-dense, leafy friends are packed with A and C vitamins and also supply a good amount of (surprise!) calcium to the body. And one of the best things about these veggies is they’re cheap—maybe 39 cents a pound (or so—depending where you live). If you’re itching to garden, growing any of these greens is easy and rewarding—they grow like weeds! The bonus with the turnip greens is the turnip on the end of the green. Turnips are delicious in a variety of ways: soups, stews and even sliced thin in salads!

So go to the produce section of your favorite grocery store and start perusing the stuff caterers and restaurants more often than not use for garnish. Pick up some kale and give it a try. You’ll love it!

Here is a very simple, introductory recipe for beginning greens eaters—enjoy!

Braised Great Garlicky Greens

Servings about 4

1 bunch collard greens -- deribbed, chopped

turnip greens

creasy greens

kale

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped fine

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash well, derib the big ones like collards and kale. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium high heat and sauté the garlic till tender, but don’t let it brown. Add the greens and keep stirring till they are nice and bright green. Now add about an inch of water to the bottom of the skillet, cover, and simmer till tender. It may take awhile on the collards, the others watch and add a little more water if necessary.

Stick a fork in to test for tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve with rice wine vinegar on the side (that’s how I love ‘em!).

Completely delicious and highly nutritious.

Per serving (1/2 cup each): 45 Calories; 6g Total Fat; 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 7mg Sodium

 

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."-- Mahatma Gandhi