Greens: Preparation, Cooking, Eating - Repeat

Greens are amazing! When your body eats greens, it's almost like it's breathing in that first special scent of spring after a long, lazy winter. You will feel like you can breathe again. Greens bring you special nutrients that sometimes can't be found in any other food source. Spinach, kale, dandelion greens, broccoli, cabbage - all these garden variety greens can make your body glow with healthy vitamins and minerals.

When selecting great greens at your grocer or specialty store, try to find out if they are locally grown, and select those that are in season. Those will be the highest in freshness because the nutrients won't have been mostly depleted from soaking in water in transit, or non-refrigeration, or any number of holding techniques they have for in-transit greens, and, they will look just picked! Search for greens that don't have any, or limited, brown or yellow spots, a good root ball if your greens come that way, and have a locally grown label on them. Organic greens are a good choice, too. This helps eliminate pesticides from your diet, ugh.

Some greens need acid while preparing them to minimize any bitterness or "woodsy" taste. Broccoli, adult and baby spinach leaves, bok choy, and others enjoy soaking up some lemon juice while they cook, or being deglazed with any kind of citrus juice like lemon or orange, or with a good white wine. Cook for 1 more minute if adding wine to evaporate the alcohol.

I like to add walnuts or pecans to any sautéed greens, that will help boost the protein content of my recipe. I enjoy eating brussel sprouts by cutting off the bottoms, making an X, blanching them until tender, then sautéing in butter and adding about 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs and zest of an orange. Deglaze with fresh squeezed orange juice and eat hot. Yum!!

You can get your greens, and love them too. Find a great recipe that includes acid, or experiment with your own tastes with those you know. Then, try to go outside your comfort zone, and experiment with a couple of other greens you haven't tried. Your body will thank you!!