A dark green challenge. You in?

January 22nd, 2010

gainlan A dark green challenge. You in?

Despite my best efforts, my recent trip to Hawaii was not without some major food indulgences. I have forgiven myself for this extremely human slip up but still had to pay the price of feeling sluggish and grumpy since we got home. Not to mention a throbbing headache under my right eyebrow.

Too much food? Too much sun? Too many hours in the plane? Whatever it was, I needed to clean it out as quickly as possible. Yesterday I was interviewed by Tom Ashbrook on NPR and could not go into it sounding like I was in a coma!

What’s the solution? Greens. Greens, greens and more greens.

Dark and leafy, greens like kale and collards are a perfect choice when you need to detoxify your system. They are literally like eating sunshine – that dark green color is chlorophyll from the sun’s absorbed energy. And don’t forget all those vitamins and fiber. Don’t you feel all happy inside thinking about it?

Another thing I love about greens is that you can prepare them quickly and easily. A little oil in a pan, maybe some garlic or crushed red pepper, and cook until they are bright green and slightly softened. Don’t let ‘em turn gray and mushy!

So in the spirit of starting fresh, this week I challenged myself to eat lots of greens and I challenged The Find Your Balance Club to try a new dark, leafy green vegetable before our next meeting!

You want in on the challenge?

Choose a dark, leafy green vegetable you’ve never had before and plan to cook it sometime in the next week! Spinach is something almost everyone has tried, so get adventurous: curly kale, dinosaur kale, collard greens, watercress, cabbage, napa cabbage, bok choy, mustard greens, beet greens, swiss chard – you name it! As long as it’s dark green and not lettuce, you can most likely cook it up just like I described above. Or, you can always eat ‘em raw with a great dressing!

Blog about your new dark leafy green and link back to this post! Let me know if you do and I’ll give you a shout out because you deserve it. Expanding your cooking repertoire sometimes takes a little push but it’s totally worth it.

My favorite quick way to eat greens? Sauteed next to some eggs in my biggest pan. One pan to clean and one heck of a nutritious meal! In the photo above, I cooked up some Gai Lan. How’s that for adventurous? It’s an asian vegetable that’s sort of halfway between bok choy and broccoli.

So, are you up for the challenge? Eat your greens and let me know if you are ready to take the next step by joining us in The Find Your Balance Club. Email me anytime for details! michelle@findyourbalancehealth.com

This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays.

18 Comments Uncategorized

  • http://www.eatmovewrite.blogspot.com Jasmine @ Eat Move Write

    I absolutely will participate. I’ve been wanting to try kale and this is just the push I needed. Awesome! I’ll be sure to mention you in my blog when I do. Oh, and check out my contest. Eat Move Write is having its first contest for natural fruit bars.

  • http://www.openendedquestion.wordpress.com Alex

    I always have a bunch of greens standing happily in a jar of water in my fridge. My fave is collards greens in coconut oil and sliced garlic…soooo good :)

    And hey, Gai Lan looks like rapini! Do they taste the same?

  • Dayva

    Tom Ashbrook! Only one of my NPR crushes! When will it be on?!

  • Luis

    Michelle,

    I need to go back to greens all the time. Nothing makes me feel better than a meal with some exotic greens.

    Case in point:

    I went into my backyard today, which is in full of dandelion greens. Most people have them in their lawn. (My backyard is unsprayed). In the Greek culture they eat this stuff like mad. Here in Florida it grows with equal vigor even in winter. So I kneeled down and yanked some up, maybe five or six little bunches. I went back inside and washed them, which was the hardest part as they were full of grit. Once they were nice and green I threw them into a pot of lightly boiling water and blanched them for half a minute or so. I removed them and wrung them in a cotton napkin, then:

    *Sauteed em in garlic and olive oil.
    *added a cup or so of cooked, sliced organic chicken breast
    *Added a cup or so of whole wheat penne
    (I didn’t add lemon, but that would have been awesome, too. The Greek method is lemon and olive oil, I believe).

    After four minutes or so of cooking, i added some sprigs of basil and removed it from the pan. Then I added crumbled feta.

    Wild dandelion greens are FREE and EASY and GOOD!

  • http://amandasdomestic.wordpress.com Amanda

    This sounds like a great idea – I’m completely in. After a week of lackluster veggie consumption this should perk me right up!! Thanks for the idea!

  • http://www.simpledaisy.blogspot.com simpledaisy

    I love dark leafy greens!! I like to make sauteed spaghetti squash with kale!! yummy!!! I do try to put a variety of dark leafy greens into everything i make!! Great idea…thanks:)

  • http://findyourbalancehealth.com Michelle

    @Jasmine – great! let us know how your kale turns out and what variety you tried.

    @Alex – They do look similar. Rapini is a bit closer to broccoli I believe, gai lan has a sharper flavor of bok choy. But, subtle difference :-)

    @Dayva – it was on Thursday! Recording is available online and through itunes :-)

    @Luis – wow, I wish I had a backyard with anything but woodchips! Good for you, that sounds great.

    @Amanda – Let us know what dark green veg you try :-)

    @simplydaisy – I know, I try to add them everywhere too, sometimes I get carried away haha

  • http://www.ladyraycello.com Rachel

    I love all greens, but I love love love sea vegetables! I make a weekly trip to “Reliable Market” (you must know this place, Michelle) and pick up wakame, hijiki, nori, and kombu. Unfortunately I haven’t found dulse there. But anyway, I soak these various greens in water and drain the water (save it for stock) and add the greens to salads, or I just throw the greens into soup. It’s really cool because the dried-up version of the seaweed looks like little petrified nothings, but then after it soaks it expands and tastes amazing (and looks cool).

  • http://peoplesgourmet.wordpress.com Amy

    So cool! I’m about to make a greens+garlic broth soup as a detox measure. I really love greens, and you’re right, a little oil in a pan is all you need to cook some up.

  • Liz

    Hmmm, love to take this challenge but I rarely find greens I haven’t eaten before! Like Luis, I like dark greens (espec. rapini, which I find quite different to gai lan, and beet greens or chard) with pasta and mozzarella. I like gai lan with black beans, any kind of cabbage with caramelized onions, and rapini with a light olive oil and tomato dressing on bruschetta. Mmmmmmmm….

  • http://prettygreengirl.com Janet

    Eating sunshine! I love that.

    This is a great idea. I was at the health food store the other day and could not decide what vegetables to get. I try to convince myself that I like chard, but every time I make it, I remember – I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it. Kale’s a bit better, but still not my favorite. I LOVE cabbage and bok choy though. I need to try some new types of veggies – I’m definitely in a broccoli/carrot/cabbage/Brussels sprout/peas/sweet potato rut. Which is good, but I need to get back into eating a wider variety! I’m thinking watercress (which I’ve only had in tea sandwiches), but I’m excited to see what’s out there!

  • http://mulberrymary.blogspot.com Mary

    Oh yes I already know what I will write about. LOVE greens. They are so yummy to my tummy. Michelle you are such a doll!

  • http://nourishedfitness.com Alyson

    Totally up for the challenge! I’ve been actually on a try-new-greens kick myself, and tried both Swiss Chard & Kale for the first time recently. Think Bock Choy is next on my list :)

  • http://itzyskitchen.blogspot.com Erica

    I’m SOOOOO up for it. Theres a bundle I’ve been wanting to try. I’m traveling for work the next few days, but maybe I can find one of them out at a restaurant??

  • http://www.heidirobb.com Heidi Robb

    Each time I return from a vacation, I totally crave deep, mineral greens and juicy, crunchy salads for days after. The body knows what it wants if you just listen.

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  • http://amandasdomestic.wordpress.com Amanda

    Michelle, I stuck to my word and tried kale chips! Thanks for the challenge, they were so yummy and I think hereon out – anytime I think mashed potatoes, I’m going to think to add some crispy kale chips! Success! :)

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