I have become a fan of leafy green vegetables for a good reason. They are full of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, which make them some of the best foods around for boosting immune system and keep healthy lifestyle. I used to eat only lettuce in salads, which got boring after a while.
Now I eat a variety of greens. If you are tired of salads or if you don’t like salads at all and can’t stand the bitter taste or texture of most greens, there are many ways in which to incorporate them into your diet. Here I share some of the ways you can do that.
1. Green vegetable juice
Did you know that green juices can be delicious? Invest in a good juicer and make yourself green juice first thing in the morning by blending cucumber, lettuce, kale (with the stems), celery, green apple or pear, ginger, and lemon. If you don’t have time, buy freshly squeezed juice at your local juice bar. Never buy the sugar-filled store-bought juices.
The one significant advantage of juicing is that it requires many vegetables to make glass, far more than you or I can eat in a meal, so it increases the consumption of vegetables. Another advantage is that the vegetables are eaten raw, so all the nutrients are preserved, and the body and brain benefit 100%.
Other benefits of green vegetable juicing include:
- Weight loss, since you avoid starches, sugars, and meats and burn a lot of body fat for energy.
- Improves digestion since some foods, such as bananas and leaks, are rich in probiotics.
- Lowers cholesterol levels since you stay away from saturated fats when you have juice for breakfast or lunch.
- Detoxification when you go on a juice fast because you get essential nutrients and minerals that help the body to get rid of free radicals and toxins in the colon, liver, and organs.
- Increases energy from pure sugar in vegetables and fruits, which are absorbed fast to provide instant energy. Also, you don’t use much energy for digestion, so you preserve a lot of body energy. Each time I have juice for breakfast, I feel energetic all morning and all day.
- Clears up the skin, eyes, and brain. With fewer toxins and more nutrients entering the body, the skin, eyes, and brain clear up as a sign of health. I used to suffer from brain fog a few years ago, and it cleared up once I started juicing may be because of the removal of toxins and the availability of more nutrients.
2. Kale chips
I like to make crunchy raw kale chips. Here is how to make them. Clean and cut kale leaves, dehydrate them and coat them with a delicious coating to make delicious finger food. Instead of eating them raw, you can also bake them with olive oil and salt or be more adventurous with your flavors. Alternatively, buy ready-made ones from your health food store. Snack on them when you feel a little bit hungry in the afternoon.
3. Raw wraps
I love wraps but, instead of using a tortilla or flatbread, I add my favorite ingredients as fillings onto de-stemmed collard or Swiss chard leaves, Belgian endive, romaine or Bibb lettuce or cabbage leaves. The ingredients can be any of salsa, roast vegetables, taco meat, cheese, sundried tomatoes, hummus, avocado, Kalamata olives, and diced cucumber. Make your combinations.
4. Soups and stews
Add to your stew or soup a handful of spinach or other greens in the last 5 minutes of cooking. If you don’t like to see the leaves in your soup, you can blend them into your creamy soup. It will change the color a bit, but you will love the added nutrition.
5. Kimchi, sauerkraut, and coleslaw
Remember that cabbage is also a leafy green! I like to eat it in the form of sauerkraut, coleslaw, or kimchi (a spicy fermented Korean condiment made from napa cabbage). I add some to a wrap or stir-fried vegetables.
6. Smoothies
Whenever I make a smoothie, I throw in a handful of spinach or de-stemmed chard or kale leaves. Try it. If the taste is not to your liking, include a handful of fresh or frozen berries such as blackberries or raspberries to cover up the flavor of greens.
7. Pesto
You don’t have to limit your greens to basil whenever you make pesto. Replace some of the basil, say half, with another green vegetable of your choice. I like to use tender baby spinach leaves because they taste great. Try them and also be adventurous and experiment with watercress, mustard green, and arugula. If you want to, leave out the basil and replace it with cilantro or parsley. Instead of pine nuts in every pesto, change that to walnuts or pistachios.
8. Hummus and Guacamole
Next time you make a batch of hummus, add half a cup of spinach. It will give your hummus a lovely green color and extra micronutrients without adding any unwanted bitter taste.
When I make guacamole, I don’t fork-crush my avocado. I like to puree it and add a handful of greens. Instead of using chips or crackers to scoop up the guac, I use romaine or butter lettuce leaves.
Health benefits of green vegetables
I love leafy greens because they are effortless to include in my diet. You will like them too, and you will discover many other ways to eat them! They are super-nutritious, packed with vitamins A, B, C, E and K, minerals like iron, magnesium, and calcium, and a load of flavonoids, antioxidants, and other phytochemicals.
One benefit that I noticed from increased intake of greens is improved digestive health. Indigestion, bloating, and constipation that I used to suffer from disappeared. That is because greens are full of fiber, which makes food move faster in the intestines and also adds bulk to waste, which is easier to move out of the body.
Other benefits include cancer prevention, strengthening the immune system, improving blood circulation, and lowering cholesterol levels. Leafy greens also remove toxins from the body. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, watercress, bok choy, mustard greens, turnip greens, cucumber, celery, parsley, and thyme are some of the many vegetables that detoxify the body.
