Greens are usually given the back burner or side dish/condiment position by the standard American diet (SAD), when they really should be put at the front of the line, meal replacement promotion if-you-will, due to their impressive qualifications in their resume on our health. It's really quite astonishing.
I have mentioned before the effects of acidity/alkalinity (pH) balance on our health and how important it is in cultivating a healthful medium in our bodies. Green veggies have fabulous alkalizing properties when consumed regularly due to their minerals of magnesium, potassium and calcium. Greens also:
- contain chlorophyll, a natural deodorant and stimulating red blood cells.
- enzymes that promote food digestion (which we lose with age, resulting in incomplete digestive breakdown and nutrient assimilation).
- amino acids, the building blocks for making proteins
- antioxidant properties (some studies showing more than vitamin E!) and anti-inflammatory properties
- contain high amounts of B vitamins in darker-leafed veggies.
Go greens!
Raw greens are sometime difficult to eat, but a great way to consume them is in a green smoothie. Our family has been consuming green smoothies for years. Spinach, kale and chards are the best for smoothies and when blended with frozen blueberries, banana, or mixed berries you'd never know they were there. This is a great way to sneak greens into the diets of children. Disclaimer: once your children grow and understand that greens have been lurking in their smoothie, they may balk. Mine did and we've since been on a green smoothie hiatus with them. They now drink a chocolate, raw milk and egg smoothie. The youngests will still drink the greens, especially in popsicle form. You can also add in kefir/yogurt, coconut milk. I also sweeten with stevia and maple syrup. Green smoothies are a great after exercise breakfast especially.
To do green smoothies right you need a good blender. No one wants green chunks, so the blender must be powerful enough to cut through plant fibers. Blendtec makes an amazing blender for the job. The crazy info- commercials show it blending cell phones, broom sticks, etc., so with that you KNOW it will work on food....and it does. We've had ours for several years and it works like brand new after daily episodes of violent blending. It is pricey (around $400), but you get way you pay for.
Our garden is currently producing a plethora of greens. Course we use them in smoothies, but here's a recipe I recently tried hoping it would pass my oldest children's approval and encourage them to try more greens again. They will eat steamed kale with raw apple cider vinegar, but would they like it broiled? These kale chips are a great way to replace crunchy processed crackers, pretzels and chips for a unique snack.
Get ready for a how-to on this complex recipe:
Fresh, washed kale on a baking pan.
Drizzled with olive oil (or mix kale with olive oil in a bowl and layer on pan).
Bake on 400 degrees and watch until it becomes shriveled and slightly crispy (roughly 5-10 minutes). Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with sea salt. We use Real Salt, a brand with trace minerals.
There you go! So super easy.
How does it taste? My oldest was reluctant at first, but after some coaxing came back for more AND more...yea!
You can make these in large batches and store them for a quick, easy snack. You'll be amazed at how delicious they are. Chopped broccoli prepared this way is also yummy, especially with a little Braggs Liquid Aminos soy sauce.
Hope you're ready to eat more of the RIGHT green stuff!
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