Eating Your Greens

Now I know that we are supposed to eat plants and animals but, realistically, I just don't eat as many veges - especially the greens - as I could. There really is no excuse - I literally have a little greens garden now poised to produce an abundance of greens daily. Sometimes I simply feed them to the chickens.

Today I harvested: one large leaf of bok choy and one of lettuce, a wee bundle of spindly celery stalks, several sprigs of parsley, a few basil leaves and a spring onion. When I sliced them, they amounted to about 2 1/2 cups, which I tossed in a bowl with lemon juice, olive oil and five cherry tomatoes. It took me nearly half an hour to eat it!! This I cannot imagine doing on a regular basis. In addition to the veges mentioned above there is/will be silverbeet (Swiss chard), broccoli, cabbage, leeks, chives, garlic chives.

So the discussion I'd like to start is, how many green vegetables do you consume, and how do you serve them? Can you truly imagine eating 9 cups of vegetables daily, including 3 cups of greens ie as in Wahls protocol? Or do you have some other target? How could I best utilise my produce enjoyably?

I hope some others have good input on this, my intake of greens is nowhere close to the quantities you mention.

Annie when I was deep in my mostly W30 year here is what I did to consume 9 cups of veg and Wahl’s is more than just green veg, it’s an abundance of all colors. Depending on the level and why you are doing it there are ones she suggests to avoid, as in her keto level and avoiding the starchy kind.

For breakfast I would sauté up about 3-4 cups of veg, including jalapeño, bell pepper, spring onion, brussle sprouts, about an ounce or so of sweet potato and then 1-2c of that was collard greens or kale. When you sauté them they do shrink up a bit. I would have some homemade sausage in there and a couple of eggs cracked on top for the protein.

For lunch I would have a BAS with some protein. Dinner would include some sort of veg as a side and I got pretty close to 9 cups. Didn’t really find it that difficult and I guess I’m a fast eater.

Outside of lettuces and other salad greens (arugula, sometimes spinach, radicchio), I prefer greens to be cooked. Kale has no place in a salad.

Chard, cabbages and bok choy, spinach, escarole can all get by with a quick saute.

For me, collards, kales, mustards and turnip tops are better simmered a long time in water. All take well to onions and garlic, some black or chili pepper, a piece of ham or bacon, and vinegar or lemon juice or hot sauce to serve with.

Soup is a good place for greens.

Roasting is great for broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and even broccoli rabe. We like them a bit more done than most recipes - they get tender with crispy caramelized edges.

It is much easier and more palatable to eat more when they are cooked.

I also have a hard time with this. I like a nice salad but the thought of eating 9 cups of greens every day does not seem appealing. However, one way I incorporate them is by eating fresh herbs. I toss handfuls of those on my plate.

For example, breakie I might make a hash with some cooked peppers, onions, and whatever leftover veg we have from dinner. I toss this with half a potato and cook it up. I top with an egg, some hot sauce and a handful of cilantro. That's about a cup of veggies.

Lunch is the hardest veggie meal for me. I fail in this area.

Dinner we always have a cooked veg and a salad. That's probably another 2 cups. Getting out you third grade math skills gives you a whopping 3 cups in my day. Yes, sad, and not meeting the mark!

Interesting feedback, thankyou everyone. To clarify - Wahls advocates 3 cups of greens daily. The 9 cups is total for ALL veges. (This is for restoring health, perhaps not so much is needed by already healthy people - though I guess it can't hurt).

So today, I harvested another bunch of varied greens, probably at least two cups though I did not measure. I let them steam on top of the rice after it cooked, and then stirred them in, with some lemon juice and coconut cream.

This tasted quite ok and did make them easier to eat BUT it made probably four servings so I would have consumed only half a cup of greens myself. At least it's a start.

The recipe idea came from here (though I modified it heavily): https://www.bonappetit.com/story/rent-week-rice-and-greens

Annie, don't forget all 3 cups do not need to be consumed at one meal. As noted above, I spread my throughout the day. A cup at each meal is easier to imagine that 3 at once. Of course to hit 9 cups you would have some of other veg at each meal too.

That's a good point NM.  I could potentially see myself eating greens twice a day (once they grow a bit more), but three times would be ambitious at this stage.

I have continued to pick a moderate bunch a day, gently sautee them in butter then pour over a beaten egg and leave till it sets, which is pretty good to eat with cheese and pickle, and pretty satisfying too.  It works for either breakfast or lunch, though I couldn't face it for both.

As for the 6 cups of other veges, I am not focussing on them at the moment.  Winter's coming, and soup might help with that.

I love greens with eggs.

Soup is an excellent way to get in more veg.

One thing I really enjoy is butternut squash, brusssles, bacon and onion sauteed together. Its a great side or a nice entree.

Yum, that sounds very tasty.

I'm persevering with the greens. Yesterday I made a smoothie. I should have realised that bright greens and frozen blueberries would look a lot less attractive when blended together. There was banana and feijoa and oat milk in there too and it all tasted delicious, but it did not look pretty at all.

Annie my DH had a PT who talked about trying juicing, basically gave the same look as your smooths, he called it pond scum due to the look

Haha, pond scum.

Soups are great way to get in greens. My favorite is hot Italian sausage with greens and potatoes. I make a pot of bone broth most weeks. Dandelion greens are best in it but I use whatever I happen to have. It is a good way to get in bitter greens like dandelion or broccoli raab.

Gazpacho is a good way to get in a lot of veggies and while greens aren’t usually in it, I don’t see why you couldn’t put some in, especially the sweeter greens like spinach. It is a very forgiving soup and easy to make. Add some salad shrimp on top and you have a fancy veg filled meal.

I also liked creamed spinach or chard. I use coconut milk and Violife vegan Parmesan cheese with white and black pepper., since I can’t eat dairy.

Like NM, we tend to spread them out through the day. Tougher greens like kale and also be roasted until crispy for a crunchy salad topping or just by themselves.

Kale also makes nice compost.

ekba wrote:Kale also makes nice compost.

There are many who would agree with that one!

             

^

V, these sound like good ideas.

Seriously, you make bone broth that often?  It sounds like a good habit for me to get into, especially now as we are moving to cooler seasons. What is your routine with it?  

Creamed chard?  Do you just cook it and then puree with the coconut cream?? Then what would you eat with it?


I did in fact make a single serving of soup today, with carrots and lots of greens.  Picking them is becoming a habit, which is my intention.

We love soup and right now, with E working from home, we need 2 meals a day. Soup is so easy and so versatile. I always have a bone bag in the freezer that all bones go into. Most of my broths are mixed bone, which I think gives a more complex flavor. I also got extra beef and pork bones.when got our pork and beef shares. We buy a whole chicken each week that E breaks down and the neck and back go into the bone bag immediately with the other bones going in later. Once a week, I fill a pot with water, toss the bones in and start them on the stove. Sometimes I roast the bones first but not always. Sometimes I put leek ends, carrots and celery in it. We get the first batch of broth, then I make a second batch with the same bones for Daisy, our dog. It is a habit now. Nothing feels healthier than a bowl of broth with tones of veggies in it.

For the creamed veggiesI just mix the cooked, chopped greens with coconut milk and the other stuff and roasted it in the oven. When it is bubbly and brown, I serve it as a side. It is amazing with a steak or burger.

V made a good soup with greens for lunch today. We had broth from last week, and she added some finely diced stew beef and shiitake mushrooms and nori. Once it was cooked she added a couple of bunches of bok choy and tatsoi from the garden (chopped). Flavorings were miso and vinegar, so it was sort of miso soup meets hot and sour.

Sounds delish.