Kale and other greens

TammyLynne71

I am trying to get more greens in my diet.Does any one use Kale or spinach in their shakes? What other ways can I use them? What about other greens?

bellaivy

I've tried juicing kale once, but i think juicing takes all the fiber out of it. maybe blending it with orange juice would be good.

cutie2b

I put spinach in my morning smoothie with frozen fruit, 1/2 frozen banana, coconut milk or real milk, and protein powder. I can't taste the spinach at all, but it does turn the shake green and you have to make sure everything gets blended.

I also love spinach in salads, cooked, in quiche, in omletes, in a casserole, etc.

I like Kale sauteed with olive oil and a splash of lemon juice and garlic.

There's lots of recipes. Some people have been eating Kale Chips/Crisps.

Also, I've made an arugula pesto before that was good - with a bit of spice to it. There's lots of recipe ideas online. I just google the ingredients and go searching.

misskerouac

Kale chips are delicious!!!!

MMarvelous

I put spinach in my smoothies as well. It does make the smoothie a funky color but I put the mixture in a brown container. So I only notice the taste and not the color LOL I have friends who have RAVED about kale chips. I plan to try them in a week or two. I also do spinach in my omelets and lasagna.

awandell

I put spinach on just about anything I can. Spinach makes a great "bed" for almost any of the casseroles, lasagnas, chicken/tuna salads etc. you may eat. I eat spinach by itself with a little dressing and some raisins or parm. cheese. The kids will eat spinach plain. They just love it. It's great also chopped up into dishes, similar to what you'd do with parsley or basil. I'm still in the learning stages with kale. I've put it on a sandwich with a tomato and cheese before, and it was crispy and yummy. Blending it and adding it to my juiced veggies or fruit is the easiest thing for me to do with kale. I never seem to get much out of it by juicing it.

evolutionaerie

Soups! Pair your greens up with things like potatoes, cauliflower, celery, asparagus, squash, and so on, add some onions, garlic, spices, and veggie stock, and then, once it's cooked, give it all a whir in the blender. Healthy, tasty, filling, chock full of vitamins, and you generally have lots left over to freeze.

megsmom2

I put spinach in smoothies sometimes...you really don't taste it, but it looks pretty funky. Put it in an opaque glass, no problems!

robinxhope

I put a bed of greens (spinach, arugula, kale, collards, green beans...whatever is available) at the bottom of whatever I make for dinner whether it be pasta and sauce, soup, casserole, eggs, enchiladas.. etc. It bulks up the meal and creates an illusion that there is more food there. And it helps fill me up with nutrient dense low calorie content. But I really like greens. I go through a bag of spinach in a day sometimes. I hope this helps.

JaclynnGail

I put a couple of handfuls of kale or Swiss chard in my eggs every morning, and always put spinach in my smoothies. Really, if I'm making anything that involves a skillet I throw kale or chard in there...I love them...I used to not, but I do now. Getting my husband to love them like I do has been the tricky part, but he's starting to come around.

doubglass

You can cook it any way you cook or use spinach. There are a lot of varieties and nutrition varies slightly from one to the other.
Very easy green to grow, There are cold weather varieties and some warmer weather varieties. Kales keep better than many mustards. Other greens to try: Bok Choy, mustards, collards, chard, beets, turnips, arugulla (a mustard), dandelions. All can be used as you use spinach. Collards, mustards and chard tend to be stronger tasting. Younger plants and leaves usually taste better.

HollyMinear

I LOVE kale chips...and they are super easy. I made some tonight and I'm posting the recipe here: www.facebook.com/FitCoachHolly Come "like" the page and you'll get free healthy recipes delivered to your page.

IveLanded

I put kale or spinach in EVERYTHING. For breakfast, I often put chopped greens in my scrambled egg whites.

AVinmill

as previously stated Kale chips are very easy, very delicious, and very healthy. Add a little parmesan cheese to them while they are in the oven and sooo good.

TammyLynne71

Thank you for all of the wonderful ideas.

Vegetablearian

I can eat kale and spinach raw for a snack... most wouldnt stomach that though

DalexD

Put them on a salad sandwich, put them into a curry, blend them with other veg and put in the fridge to make a smoothie (I love them blended with cucumber), mix with scrambled eggs... There are loads of things

CrazyDaisysMommy

We love to use kale, spinach and beet greens in our morning smoothies! We use a vitamix instead of juicing. One of our favorite blends is: spinach, celery, pineapple, apple. Yum!

barefoot76

I put greens like kale, spinach, chard, etc, in everything I can to get my kids to eat them.

I put eggs, butter, a splash of milk and some greens in the food processor to make "scrambled green eggs."

I put my pancake mix and a handful of spinach in the food processor to make "radioactive pancakes."

I put swiss chard in the blender with fresh or roasted garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and green onion to make "super-pesto!"

See if you can add greens to some of your favorite foods as you transition towards eating them. Eventually you'll be able to simply eat them as a salad or saute them with other veggies and eat them no problem!

Sweet_Potato

I made a delcious brunch yesterday. I fried an egg in a little bit of good olive oil and placed it atop a bed of baby kale (which is so tender you can eat it raw). Then I drizzled some more olive oil on top and sprinkled the whole thing with za'atar. Meanwhile I toasted a couple pieces of baguette in the pan and ate it with the egg and kale. It was a great meal!

JamesonsMommy

Kale chips

darkling_glory

Just a heads up, if you're going to blend kale in a smoothie, make sure you have a pretty high-powered blender. Kale can be pretty tough and sometimes it doesn't get as blended as it should!

KLo924

I add arugula to just about any pasta thing I make (I loooove arugula!). I'll also make a warm baby spinach salad:

- sautee a little garlic in olive oil in a large pan
- add a bag or box of baby spinach (in batches, depending on the size of your pan)
- add a little bit of white wine (or vegetable broth)
- sautee until a little wilted
- squirt with a little lemon juice
- finish with salt, pepper, asiago or another funky cheese if you like, and pine nuts (all of these are optional)
:flowerforyou:

Slice1

I have yet to try Kale chips, but I think I should, I keep hearing so much about them!

I put spinach in my scrambled eggs (or egg whites) and in many other things. You can put spinach in just about anything.

I also will add it into a salad.

SweetSammie

Mmmm, I put kale in soup... minestrone, or a 15 bean soup.

I also have cooked it like collard greens (with a little lean bacon, garlic and onion).

Or I make colcannon (Irish cabbage and potatoes) but use Kale instead of cabbage. Using fat free evaporated milk is a good way to make mashed potatoes creamy with no added fat (and a lot of added calcium and vitamin D). Colcannon is also a great way to get "Mashed potatoes" with less starch.

There are a lot of colcannon recipes out there, but I sort of "wing it."

(P.S., the leftovers can make a great soup)

lightstruck1

Green smoothies! However you have to have a pretty hardcore blender to shred leafy greens.