One subject I am super passionate about is including the rainbow of colors in your diet every single day. Plants contain phytonutrients (phyto- meaning plant so-- plant nutrients). While these are not essential to our health like protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals they are helpful in preventing disease and play an integral part in allowing your body to function properly. There are said to be more than 25,000 different phytonutrients but for today I am going to keep it simple and stay in the green family.
Green fruits and veggies are rich in numerous phytonutrients such as flavonoids, polyphenols, and chlorophyll, to name a few, but what does that mean for you? These antioxidants are not only helpful in fighting free radical damage2 as well as being anti-inflammatory but they are super beneficial in heart health. High intake of flavonoids has been shown to reduce risk of death from cardiovascular disease in men and women. 1
Ready to load up your plate with some leafy greens and other tasty greens? Let’s take a look at some good choices…..
Swiss Chard:
Maybe you’ve seen it at the store or thought about growing this beauty in your garden. I say go for it! I grow these in our garden- super easy to grow from seed, love the pops of color it provides in the garden, and such a prolific grower. I prefer the taste of the baby leaves (more tender) but the larger leaves are tasty as well.
You might have seen these greens in a salad but another simple way to prepare is remove the leafy green from the color stalk. Chop the stalk up in small pieces and dice up the greens. Take a skillet and heat up a little avocado oil and add in some chopped shallots and diced garlic. Then add in the stalk pieces- I cook for 5 minutes or so till a bit softer. Then add in the chopped greens and saute for several minutes. This is more of a texture preference so cook till you feel comfortable. Super easy and tasty. Eat as a side or put add into your morning scramble.
Kale:
So many different varieties and again an easy one to grow in the garden. I’m in Phoenix and grow this baby during the cooler winter months. Add it to your leafy green salads, chop up in your eggs, sautee as a side dish, or make some delicious and crisp kale chips.
Sprouts of all kinds:
I originally purchased the Sproutamo Easy Sprout Sprouter and then moved up to the Victorio 4 tray sprouter to have more sprouts growing. I set it in the back, and dark corner of my kitchen counter and pop the seeds in and add water and wait. How easy is that?!!? This are great on salads, wraps, sandwiches, or even just to grab and snack on. My favorite are broccoli sprouts!
Other great leafy greens…. Collard, mustard, arugula, spinach, dandelion greens, romaine lettuce, bok choy.
Avocado:
Oh how I wish I could grow these babies in my own backyard. So creamy and delish. Great for cardiovascular health and packed full of vitamins and nutrients. This is one of my favorite foods. Great source of healthy fats. For a quick snack I will sometimes eat half of an avocado with a little sea salt, add to my eggs in the morning, or top off a salad. So many uses for this beautiful, fat goddess.
Can’t forget the trusty green bean or pea. Wonderful and tasty choices to get your green in daily.
If you haven’t checked out the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen food lists be sure to head over there now at https://www.ewg.org/. They have a list of produce that can be purchased conventionally grown as well as a list of produce that test high in pesticides and should be purchased organically grown for optimal health.
So what’s your favorite green? How do you prepare it? Please share as that is how we all learn and grow. Thanks for taking the time to join me. I appreciate you!
Sources:
- Kim, Youngyo, and Youjin Je. “Flavonoid Intake and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and All Causes: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.” Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, Elsevier, 28 Apr. 2017, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405457716302716.
Panche, A. N., et al. “Flavonoids: an Overview.” Journal of Nutritional Science, vol. 5, 5 Oct. 2016, doi:10.1017/jns.2016.41.
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