Eat your greens
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As a younger child, I remember being told, ‘make sure you eat your greens.’ The majority of my life I spent being quite fussy when it came to what I would or wouldn’t eat up until the last five years or so. Now I like to try a variety of different foods regularly to improve the quality of my diet, as I know this will be beneficial for my overall health, especially in the long term.
The rule I usually like to follow these days is that I incorporate at least one green food into every single meal I eat. The more the merrier. Before I became a vegetarian two years ago my diet mainly consisted of carbs and meat, looking back now I don’t know how I was ever satisfied with a beige plate of food. Generally, the appearance of the food we eat normally determines whether we think it will taste satisfying and leave us feeling fulfilled afterwards.
Superfoods such as dark leafy greens are nutrient dense. These foods are a good source of vitamin A, C E and K as well as calcium and several phytochemicals (chemical compounds produced by plants that have positive effects on your health). Greens also contain plenty of antioxidants that protect cell membranes and play a role in blocking the early stages of cancer.
Dark leafy greens are a source of dietary fibre. Dietary fibre is a tough substance found in unrefined starchy foods and cannot be broken down by the body to provide fuel. This indigestible material stays within the digestive system where it helps to provide bulk, which in turn enables the smooth passage of food and waste products along the digestive tract. In other words, it keeps you regular, as my Nan would say.
So which foods are considered dark leafy greens? Well, there are salad greens such as romaine, rocket and butterhead. Cruciferous leafy greens include kale, collard greens, bok choy (a type of Chinese cabbage) and broccoli as well as leaves such as swiss chard and spinach which come from different families.
Here are some ideas of how you can incorporate these superfoods into your diet:
Eat them raw.
Include them in smoothies and juices
Add chopped greens to a stir-fry towards the end of the cooking time so they stay fresh
Chop kale and spinach finely and add to a sauce
Use spinach, lettuce and rocket as a base for salads and sandwiches or serve with pasta or on a pizza.