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Make
greens the foundation of your summer meals
June 28, 2007
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
This
time of year, “going green” takes on new meaning.
That’s because whether you shop for produce at the farmers
market, grow your own or get your summer vegetables by subscription
through a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm, like
I do, you’re confronting an abundance of greens of all
types.
And that can be both a challenge and an opportunity.
At my house, I find I have to make regular and liberal use
of fragile salad greens – red and green leaf lettuce,
Bibb, and arugula, for example – to use them up before
they spoil. Kale, Swiss chard, and other tough, dark green
leafy vegetables keep longer but have to be worked into menus
often, too, or they accumulate and crowd the refrigerator.
Tossed salad and cooked greens at the same meal can be an
overwhelming dose of green, so I serve them separately. In
practice, that means we’ll eat a tossed salad or cooked
greens at least once a day at my house from now through the
end of October.
That’s a good thing. Why?
Because both raw salad greens and cooked dark greens are exceptionally
good for your diet and health. Nutritionally, there are differences,
but there are many advantages to greens of all types.
Greens used in salads are high in water content. Once picked,
they only keep in the refrigerator for a few days before they
lose their crispness and begin to spoil. The bulkiness of
crisp salad greens is a bonus, though. Salad greens are low
in calories, so meals that include a big tossed salad –
or better yet, an entrée salad – can be a substantial
help in controlling your weight.
The nutritional content of salad greens varies by variety.
Bibb and green leaf lettuce, for example, contain a range
of vitamins and minerals, but the darkest salad greens –
including arugula and baby spinach – contain the most,
including generous amounts of iron, calcium, folic acid, potassium,
and vitamins A, C and E.
Sturdier, cooked greens, including chard, collards, bok choy,
many varieties of kale and cabbage are also good sources of
fiber and protein. The darkest of these – such as green,
red and blue-green kale, Swiss chard and spinach – are
nutritional powerhouses rich in beneficial phytochemicals
and low in the disease-promoting saturated fat, cholesterol
and sodium that most of us get in excess.
If you don’t have a regular supply of fresh greens,
go out and get some. Once you’ve got them, use them.
Some simple tips can help ensure they don’t go to waste:
* Wash and dry fresh greens so that they’re ready to
use when you are ready to cook. Wrap greens in damp paper
toweling and store in plastic or mesh bags in the refrigerator
for up to one week.
* Use salad greens liberally as edible garnishes on serving
plates and to line bowls of pasta salad, cucumber and tomato
salad, and other summer salads. Add them to pita pocket sandwiches
and wraps, and roll chopped salad into burritos.
* Think big when you eat a salad. Cover most of your plate
with the salad and let a small portion of the “main
dish” teeter on the side. Eat entrée salads often.
Pile your dinner plate with salad and top it with other cold
salads, canned beans, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, grated carrots,
olives, avocado and oil-based dressing.
* Use a base of cooked greens to make a number of entrees
and sides. Sauté onions and minced garlic in olive
oil, add washed, dark greens, cover and steam until tender.
Experiment with adding soy ginger sauce, balsamic vinegar,
vegetable bouillon, and other marinades. Mix cooked greens
with whole grain pasta, couscous, or rice. Stir leftovers
into soup.
Make greens the foundation of summertime meals and you’ll
have the makings of a healthful diet.
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