It's Time To Eat Your Greens!

Gorgeous Red Swiss Chard

By Chef Andrea Yoder

“Cooking with whole foods simply means choosing foods that are in their natural state or as close to it as possible.  When it comes to finding the motivation to get into the kitchen and cook, what could be more inspiring than seasonal, fresh ingredients from a  bunch of newly picked deep green kale or a rich orange winter squash …..These beautiful foods don’t need much preparation to turn them into a nourishing, flavorful meal….Real whole foods are brimming with flavor and vitality and the innate intelligence to improve your health.”—Amy Chaplin from Whole Food Cooking Every Day

Sometimes in life, it’s best to keep things simple, and simplicity is the approach I like to take when talking about “greens.”  I didn’t grow up eating “greens.”  That term, in my world, referred to the bunches of collard, mustard and turnip greens that held this foreign space at the end of the produce wet rack at the Kroger’s grocery store where my mom did all her shopping.  Those were things other people (although I wasn’t sure who those “other people” were) purchased, not us.  As far as “leafy greens” went, we stuck to the safe things like iceberg lettuce, cabbage and the occasional bag of spinach.  When I went to culinary school I was exposed to a few more “greens.”  Well, actually not that many more, but I did actually learn how to cook those collard greens! It really wasn’t until I came to Harmony Valley Farm that my world of leafy greens exploded!  Now I can’t imagine living a year without hon tsai tai, bok choi, nettles or overwintered spinach.  My body craves greens in the spring and throughout the year.  One of my favorite leafy greens is Swiss Chard.  I swear I can feel my body incorporating all of this green’s nutrient density into my cells as soon as I eat it!  While I can easily navigate leafy greens now, after many years of exposure, I do remember when I was intimidated by all these different greens and as I looked at them I didn’t see anything simple about them.  What part do I eat?  Do I eat them raw or cook them?  Do they need a long cooking time or a shorter time?  How do I incorporate them into my meals and recipes?  If you have some of these same questions or find the bunches and bags of greens getting pushed to the back of the refrigerator every week, then I hope you find some value in this article along with some tools to empower you to more fully utilize the greens in your CSA box this year.  If you’ve been eating greens for years, but are in a rut and looking for some new ways to incorporate them into your meals, I hope you’ll find a few ideas in this article to spark your creativity and expand your repertoire. 

Richard in a beautiful
field of collards

First of all, why is it even important for us to eat “greens?!”  I could answer that question with a very simple “Because they are good for you!”  That is a true statement, but I’ll expand just a bit on that thought.  Leafy greens are nutrient powerhouses and contain a whole host of vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals and antioxidants.  Simply put, the nutrients contained in leafy greens give us vitality, energy and are incorporated into all parts of our bodies where they contribute to our vision, enhance bone health, protect our hearts, impact our brain function, prevent cell damage, decrease inflammation, minimize the effects of aging, contribute to healthy skin, hair and nails, and the list goes on!  If you would like me to write a more detailed article about all the specific nutrients contained in leafy greens and their health benefits, please send me an email and let me know.  For the sake of this article, though, I think you get the point that this class of leafy green vegetables are very important for our health, wellness and vitality. 

Leafy greens also serve a unique role in a seasonal midwestern diet, especially during the spring!  Our early season boxes are loaded with greens ranging from spinach and baby arugula to unique perennials like sorrel and nettles.  We are fortunate enough to have some type of green available for most of the growing season.  Salad mix and spinach in the spring and fall, chard and amaranth in the summer along with carrot and beet tops and kale.  In the cool of the fall, we welcome savoyed cabbages, tat soi rosettes, and radicchio!  I’ve only touched the very tip of the iceberg for the number of different “greens” we grow, eat and share with you throughout the CSA season! 

Red Radicchio late in the Fall

Not only are “greens” good for you, but they are also versatile, interchangeable, flavorful, and most of them could be considered, in my words, to be nature’s fast food!  So lets transition now into using greens.  What are you going to do with all these greens?!  Salads, that is the typical answer, and not a bad one.  Salads are an appropriate use for greens that are tender and more delicate such as head lettuce, salad mix, baby bok choi and anything else that fits this profile.  Some greens such as kale and collards may also be used in raw salads, but their leaves are a bit more thick and really should be massaged or made in advance of eating so the leaves can be softened by the acidity and fat in the dressing.  I like to keep a bottle of salad dressing in the refrigerator.  If I need a quick lunch or dinner, I’ll put whatever salad greens I have in a bowl along with any other season vegetables I can eat raw.  I toss it with dressing and add a little protein such as hard-boiled eggs, leftover chicken, nuts, etc.  This literally takes me just a few minutes to assemble and I feel so good knowing I didn’t trade my health and well-being for the convenience of eating a processed, ready-made meal.

Want to know how to make a big pile of greens disappear in just a few minutes?  Cook them!  I like to add handfuls of greens to hot pasta dishes, stir them into fried rice or vegetable stir-fry.  You can also add them into scrambled eggs and egg casseroles.  A big fluffy pile of greens will wilt down into a small handful when you add heat.  You can steam greens, sauté them in a touch of oil, or just let them wilt in the heat of hot pasta, rice, beans, lentils, etc.  Greens that have tender leaves will cook down in just a few minutes.  Thicker leaves will need a little more time to become tender.  So if your supply of greens is starting to build up, this is the way to make them disappear quickly without throwing them out!

Red Lentils with Winter Squash and Greens

Another method I like to use to incorporate greens into our meals is to turn them into pesto.  Yes, I know that pesto is traditionally made out of basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil.  While traditional pesto is good, it’s ok to steal that concept and apply it to other fluffy green vegetables.  You can make pesto out of nearly any green or leafy herb.  As for the pine nuts in traditional pesto, you can easily substitute almonds, sunflower seeds or another similar item in place of the pine nuts.  You can also very the type of oil and cheese you use.  Once you have a bowl of pesto, you can tuck it away in the fridge and use it to create a lot of things throughout the week including pasta dishes, spread it on sandwiches, wraps, etc or use it as a dip or condiment to accompany grilled steak, sautéed fish or roasted vegetables. 

Wilted greens can be incorporated into a lot of other cooked recipes such as meatballs & casseroles.  Now this isn’t a way to “hide” vegetables, but rather a way to kick up the nutrient density of a meal by working the greens into other things!  You can also blend them into smoothies, drinks and soups.

Pistachio Kale Pesto

When I’m super short on time and need to get dinner on the table in 10-15 minutes or less, I turn to greens because they are quick-cooking, versatile, yet nourishing.  So, never feel like you need to trade your well-being for convenience.  You can still make nutrient dense meals in a tiny bit of time.  Some of  my go-to methods include scrambled eggs or egg casseroles to which I add a lot of wilted greens.  I also like to make veggie wraps, quesadillas and toasted sandwiches.  With just a few simple ingredients like slices of cheese, leftover chicken, deli ham and spreads like pesto or salsa, I can throw together some pretty tasty creations packed with greens and other vegetables.   Don’t be afraid to cook without a recipe, just follow your intuition, keep it simple and use what you have!

Don’t be afraid to use convenience items from time to time as well.  While I prefer to cook with whole foods and make everything from scratch, there are some days when I really benefit from a little bit of added convenience.  For that reason I keep a few frozen pizzas, some frozen tortellini and boxed mac-n-cheese available.  If we’re really pressed for time, I can pull out one of these convenience items and augment them with other vegetables.  I’ve never been big on boxed mac-n-cheese, but I have to admit I kind of like it with wilted greens, diced salad turnips, sweet peppers, etc added to it.  I load up frozen pizzas with wilted greens, dollops of greens pesto and other vegetables.  There are ways to eat well even in the busiest of times!

I hope these ideas will help to get your own creative ideas flowing and spur you on to turn to leafy greens as a base ingredient in your diet.  I invite you to share your tips, tricks and strategies for incorporating greens into your diet in our private Facebook Group where we can all learn from each other.  This is an exciting class of vegetables to explore and your body will thank you for it!