You’ve heard that leafy greens are good for you but how do you get them onto your family’s plate?
Leafy greens are a staple at my house now but it wasn’t always the case.
Here are my top five tips for getting the leafy greens in:
1. Fermented foods; fermented foods are probiotic and enzyme-rich and are so beneficial that they’re also on my list of foods that I try to get in everyday. I love adding leafy greens to my ferments and a little goes a long way.
Here is one of my jars of fermented veggies featuring kale from my garden.
Find all the details for my upcoming online fermentation workshop
2. Soups; with the cooler weather here soups will be making a comeback. Add finely chopped leafy greens (such as spinach, parsley, Swiss chard, beet greens, collard greens…) generously to soups at the very end of cooking. The leafy greens won’t affect the flavour but will definitely boost the nutrient content.
Check out my delicious Hearty minestrone with a silky sweet potato base recipe
3. Meat loaf; meat loaf can handle a lot of greens and even the fussiest eaters won’t balk at the greens once they taste this flavour-packed recipe. Try it as a meatloaf as described in the recipe or use the seasoned meat for stuffed tomatoes, zucchinis or peppers.
4. Pesto; you may have heard me talk about pesto before but it’s such a delicious way to get the greens in as well as a great way to conserve them, that it deserves another mention.
Check out my easy seven minute pesto demonstration video
5. Smoothies; smoothies are an easy way to get greens into your day. If you’re used to all-fruit smoothies, start slow and replace a small part of your fruit by a mild-tasting leafy such as romaine lettuce, mache greens, organic spinach, parsley or baby bok choy . As you get used to the colour and the flavour you’ll gradually be able to increase the amount of greens you add in. Having the greens washed and ready to go increases the likelihood of this happening.
I hope this inspires you to use up those greens before they wilt.
