This week, we challenge you to add in extra greens to your daily/weekly tally. We are focusing on one food group because these challenges are not meant to overwhelm, they are meant to help you down the path of healthier habits. We chose greens (no, iceberg lettuce does not count) to focus on as they are a fundamental component of a healthy diet that provide a huge bang for their buck nutritionally, as they combat depression, cancer and improve immune function. Dark leafy greens are one of the healthiest foods you can put in your body, are great for athletic performance and are relatively inexpensive. So this week load up and follow our tips and tricks to sneak them into your diet! Check out this video to learn more about the health benefits of greens.
Remember to let us know how you are doing on our Facebook page and feel free to ask us questions if you need help!
Greens we eat regularly: Kale, swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, beat greens, sunflower sprouts (or other sprouted seeds) and arugula.
Breakfast/snacks:
1. Add into your morning shake. A handful of spinach or a leaf or two of kale will go unnoticed in taste.
2. Include in your breakfast wrap or sandwich.
3. Mix into your morning scramble. Check out our tofu scramble here and add in a few handfuls of spinach. It cooks down quickly.
4. Start the day off with a green juice or have as a snack in the afternoon!
Lunch/Dinner:
1. Heat up some chopped garlic on a skillet until warm and slightly brown. Then add in greens of your liking such as kale, swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens (these are a little bitter) or any other deep green you like. Heat for two – five minutes until tender and serve as a side with the rest of your meal.
2. Have a salad.
3. Add extra greens on your wrap or sandwich.
4. Mix into your stir fry’s at the very end. We always throw in kale, spinach, collard greens, beat greens, swiss chard or any other deep leafy green we have on hand into our stir fry’s or dal at the very end. Once everything is cooked, add the greens and cover with a lid for 1-2 minutes. This prevents them from getting over cooked.
5. Add frozen greens to steamer portion of your rice cooker. We do this with our quinoa/grains all the time. When the grain is cooked, the greens are warm and ready to be mixed into the grains.
6. Mix into soups; fresh or even canned or dehydrated soups. Once your soup is heated, throw in a few handfuls of your choice. The heat from the soup will wilt the greens without overcooking them.
7. Blanch collard greens (or cabbage) and make wraps with the greens themselves. Bring a pot of water to boil and dunk the collard for about 10 seconds until tender. Remove and use as your wrap in place of a tortilla. You can do the same with kale or swiss chard leaves but these do not need to be blanched.