Dark Green Vegetables to Include In Your Diet

Food/Cooking - Healthy Food

By: MellieBee 13-Sep-2011

Introduction:

Nothing says comfort and health like eating slow cooked collard greens, blanched and sauteed kale, a peppery arugula salad with toasted nuts, lightly sauteed garlicky spinach or sauteed bitter broccoli rabe. Go Green!

Slow Cooked Collard Greens

The vegetable thats the soul of southern comfort food, dark leafy collard greens are rich in Vitamin B1, B2, B6, C, K, E and minerals Manganese, Calcium, Iron and Copper. Collard Greens can be cooked with a smoked ham hock or a smoked turkey neck (vegetarians can add liquid smoke or soy sauce). Add enough water to cover half the greens and add the lid. Also add just a touch of cider vinegar. Cook on medium low heat for at least an hour, stirring. The juice left over from collard greens is sometimes called pot liquor, it contains nutrients, and biscuits or cornbread can be dipped into it.

Kale

Remove the ribs from the kale by holding your fingers on the stem and running them up or by removing the leaves from the stem with a knife.
Blanch the kale in boiling salted water until bright green. Remove the kale and put in a bowl of salted icy water. Remove the Kale from the water and dry a little. Put oil, minced garlic(let garlic get golden), and a pinch of crushed red pepper in a saute pan and add kale. Cook over medium heat.
Kale has a lot of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Iron and Calcium among other nutrients.

Broccoli Rabe

Such a bitter and delicious Italian vegetable. Italians like bitter: broccoli rabe, raddichio(bitter green leafy vegetable), espresso, grappa(bitter liquor). I like bitter too. And maybe so do you.. Blanch the broccoli rabe in boiling salted water, removing it when it turns bright green and/ or still has a bite to it. Submerge in bowl of cold icey salted water. Remove and saute in olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper. To add some sweet to your bitter, and some red, add hydrated sundried tomatoes for a nice contrast!

Broccoli Rabe has vitamins C, K, A, fiber, and folic acid.

Spinach

Wash spinach(after cutting off bottom roots) well unless you get the prewashed baby spinach. A nice way to wash dirty greens is to float them in a bowl of water and scoop them out with your hands. The dirt will sink to the bottom. Repeat this step as many times as necessary until the spinach is clean. Taste a leaf to make sure that there is no remaining grit.

Wilt spinach gently in olive oil and garlic. Can add a lid so the leaves will wilt in the steam. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach is a great source of Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Folic Acid, Copper, Protein, Selenium, Calcium, Vitamin A, C, K, B-6 and more.

Arugula

A great lettuce, Arugula lends a peppery bite to any salad. Mix in some toasted pine nuts, walnuts, or sunflower seeds, some nice dressing, vinaigrette, or lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil, some dried cranberries/cherries or raisins, and a pinch of sea salt and you have yourself a tasty, simple salad.

Vitamin A, C, K, Iron, Calcium, and more. Move over iceberg, because here comes something greener!