Greens are an essential in my everyday. The darker they are, the more packed they are with nutrients, but the real key to eating greens everyday, is making them delicious. You can only eat so much sautéed, stir fried, raw and steamed leafy greens in a week.
To keep my food full of flavor, I lean on homemade dips, marinades, and dressings. I must make at least one of these every weekend, so I can throw them in my lunch as a snack with my veggie sticks, or dressing on my salad, or even a spread on my favorite Collard Green Wrap.
Make dark, leafy greens a constant in your everyday eating.
These beautiful, chlorophyll-filled vegetables are loaded with vitamin A, C, K, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, fiber and so much more. Trust me, I can go ON and ON, but I’m not sure that will get you to eat them every day.
So here’s what you need to know:
- It’s one of the most nutrient dense foods, which means lots of nutrients in very little calories (vs. a cookie with a low ratios of nutrients:calories).
- It can help reduce the chances of cancer, heart disease, and cognitive diseases.
- There’s a ton to pick from (kale, chard, lettuce, mustard greens, bok choy, etc.).
- Sometimes they are bitter, but it can easily be masked with a squeeze of lemon juice.
- They can be made into any ethnic style dish that you’d like: chinese greens with ginger, moroccan greens with cumin and olive oil, indian greens with turmeric.
- It’s best to lightly cook them vs. overcook them, to retain as much nutrients as possible.
- The more you eat them, the more you will crave them.
- They make for great dips!
Ingredients
1 large bunch of basil (about ⅔ cup chopped)
8 leaves of kale
½ teaspoon of sea salt (more or less to taste)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
¼ cup of toasted almonds
¼ cup of toasted walnuts
Steps:
- Food process all of the ingredients.
- Taste and add more salt if necessary. If it is too bitter, add more lemon. If it is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons more of olive oil.
Yields 1 to 1 1/2 cups
