Going Green for St. Patrick’s Day
Go green this St. Patrick’s Day by eating your greens. Too often we settle for a simple salad of Iceberg lettuce, believing that by having a salad we’ve somehow eaten our greens for the day. While there is nothing inherently wrong with Iceberg lettuce, it is actually a decent source of the B vitamin folate, there is a whole other group of leafy greens that are worth getting to know.
Most of these greens are best when cooked. Look for dark green “leafies” as we like to call them. This includes kale, collards, mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach, dandelion greens, stinging nettle and cabbage. Greens like kale, Swiss chard and mustard greens are particularly high in vitamin K, which is one of those vitamins we tend not to pay much attention to. Vitamin K plays an important role in bone health as well as blood clotting. What is important to note here is that if you are on blood thinning medications such as Coumadin, then you may want to avoid eating large servings of these greens. Talk to your doctor about this if you are concerned.
Greens are rich in beta carotene, vitamin C, folate, calcium, and other nutrients that make greens a great addition to a healthy and health-promoting diet. Chlorophyll, which is the green pigment produced by the sun, is abundant in dark green leafy vegetables. The darker outer leaves tend to be highest in chlorophyll and may contain twice as much beta carotene and other vitamins as the inner leaves. We mentioned calcium as one of the nutrients abundant in greens. There is a catch-22 to this. While spinach, Swiss chard and beet greens do contain calcium, they also contain oxalates, which can prevent the proper absorption of calcium and increase the risk for developing kidney stones. Some research suggests that you can decrease this risk by increasing fluid intake and adding other dietary sources of calcium.
Fiber is also one of the key ingredients from which we benefit when we eat greens. Fiber helps us keep our weight under control and it may help prevent certain diseases.
The non-cooking greens, or salad greens, extend way beyond lettuce. Although as mentioned above, lettuce is indeed good. In fact red leaf lettuce contains a healthy dose of vitamin C, folate, iron and beta carotene. But most of the non-lettuce greens pack more beta carotene, more folate and beneficial plant chemicals that may help protect against certain cancers. Mache, arugula (aka rocket), mesclun, radicchio, and watercress are but a few to sample. Their tastes and texture vary considerably so try one at a time and experiment with new recipes.
Consider this yummy salad:
Avocado and Watercress Salad
Ingredients:
1/4 cup rice vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot (or sweet onion)
4 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
2 teaspoon agave syrup or honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
6 cups watercress (thin stems and leaves only; from 1 large bunch)
2 firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
Directions:
Stir or shake together vinegar, shallot, tamari soy sauce, and agave until well mixed, then stir in oil.
Gently toss watercress with enough dressing to coat. Divide watercress onto serving plates, layer with avocado and drizzle lightly with additional dressing. Serve immediately.
March 12, 2011
by Optimum WellnessComments
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