Eating green veggies

[Quiver0f10]

Besides salad, how do you serve greens? My whole family loves raw spinach and we use that as a base in salad mixed with some romaine. I use frozen spinach in a lot of recipes/soups etc, but I see recommendations to serve greens with dinner. So other than salad or cooked in a dish how do you serve greens? Thanks!

[fairfarmhand]

I don't eat them but my momma used to cook turnip greens in a big pot with country ham....

 

but I really don't think that is what you were looking for.....

 

:)

[hornblower]

You know my problem - I can't think of many green leafies.

 

Ok, we got Spinach. Romaine. And? And?

 

I know other lettuces don't count (esp iceberg) as they are marginal as far as nutrients.

 

Radicchio? Does that count? Dandelion greens? --- I don't mind them a bit but my kids are not keen on the bitterness.

 

So that leaves us with spinach & romaine. It's fine but boring.

 

There are some chinese greens in the veg shops here but I'm not that keen on them.

 

What about the curly leaf open head cabbages? Would that count as a leafy green?

 

ETA - there are lots of other green veg (beans, peas, broccoli, cabbage) but it's the leafies that I see recommended a lot & I just keep coming back to spinach & romaine.

[Quiver0f10]

 

ETA - there are lots of other green veg (beans, peas, broccoli, cabbage) but it's the leafies that I see recommended a lot & I just keep coming back to spinach & romaine.

 

This is exactly the issue I am having.

[abbeyej]

We eat a lot of different greens -- kale, red russian kale, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, various kinds of chard, spinach, lambs quarters and more... Mostly I cut them up (some need to have thick parts of stems removed -- kale and collards, for instance, though the stems for red russian kale and chard can be cooked with the leaves -- then lay large leaves on top of each other and make a couple of vertical slices, then chop across. That way you don't end up with super-long ribbons that are hard to eat) then toss in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Salt lightly, stir 'til wilted, then add more. Salting as you go cuts the bitterness of some greens. Usually I sauté garlic first, before adding the greens, but not always.

 

Sometimes I serve the greens right away like that (chard is best that way, spinach, lambs quarters), but sometimes I'll cook the heartier greens longer. For instance, with collards, I might sauté onions first, then add garlic, then toss in the greens and cook as above. Then I'll throw in skinless tomatoes (blanched, peeled, seeded, and cut up for larger tomatoes, or put tiny slices in grape tomatoes, roast till their skins burst open, and then they'll slide right out of their skins) and some broth or stock in and simmer with the lid on till everything else is ready.

 

Despite having grown up in the south, I don't often go for greens that have been cooked all day in pork fat. ;) Though I'm not above eating those cooked well in good restaurants. (Some restaurants serve the canned stuff, and that's beyond nasty.)

 

Adding: curly endives... Of the ones above, spinach and lambs quarters are both good raw. Brussel sprouts may qualify, and those are actually delicious roasted (wash, trim, slice in halves -- at this point, some people blanch them for a minute or two, though I'm not honestly convinced this step is necessary -- toss in olive oil, salt lightly, and roast in a hot oven). Broccoli counts as a leafy green, and you can steam, roast, make into pesto (broccoli actually makes really delicious pesto), blanch and cover with a dressing made of citrus (lemon, lime, orange) and basil and mint with a hint of honey for an unusual salad, shred raw with sesame soy ginger dressing for an asian-inspired broccoli slaw...

Edited June 8, 2010 by abbeyej

[MBM]

Besides salad, how do you serve greens? My whole family loves raw spinach and we use that as a base in salad mixed with some romaine. I use frozen spinach in a lot of recipes/soups etc, but I see recommendations to serve greens with dinner. So other than salad or cooked in a dish how do you serve greens? Thanks!

 

I like to use them in soup. I'll make big batches after I find something I like and then freeze. Easy-peasy.

 

Dr. Weil's website has some good recipes, too.

[Mejane]

Kale. Saute garlic in olive oil (you can also add onions), then add some water or veg broth and simmer until soft. It will take about 15 minutes. It has a mild flavor, but is more chewy than spinach. Really good, and really good for you. :001_smile:

[Gratia271]

I don't know if asparagus has been mentioned. We eat that regularly. I make sure that we have a large leaf salad at least once daily. We also eat significant amounts of spinach. Other than that, I am not quite sure what else is available.

[Parrothead]

There are so many different salads that can be made. Most people eat some type of meat every day. The meat is cooked a bit differently every time, but it is still meat. Salads can be the same. Try broadening your salad selections. A few ideas:

Bitter green salad with roasted pears

Green leaf lettuce , pomegranate adn almond salad

Grilled Caesar salad

Caesar salad

Spinach with strawberry vinaigrette

Mesclun salad with fried shallots and blue cheese

Arugula salad with olives, feta and dil

 

And the list can go on and on. You can make a salad every day for a month and not make the same one twice.

 

You can add fresh spinach to just about anything. Make eggs Florentine by adding fresh spinach to scrambled eggs. Make green smoothies. Add spinach to brownies before baking.

 

Now, I've made myself hungry. :001_smile:

[mcconnellboys]

We love hot spinach and artichoke dip.

 

I like broccoli raw, with dip, or lightly steamed, with lemon or a hollandaise sauce. (I have a good dip recipe and an easy hollandaise if you're interested....)

 

I also like lightly steamed asparagus with hollandaise.

 

Brussel sprouts barely cooked and served with toasted almonds in melted butter are terrific.

 

We like broccoli slaw as a salad with that Raman noodle recipe dressing that has a thousand different names and versions. I make extra dressing and grill chicken breasts with that dressing over them. It makes a great glaze for the chicken and really turns this into a complete meal for us. (I have the recipe if you'd like it....)

 

I still love spinach salad with warm bacon grease dressing and hard-boiled eggs, too!

 

You can layer spinach into a lasagna, either with or without meat.

 

You can do quiche with spinach and bacon, etc.

 

We've been eating lots of basil strips scattered on our pizza in recent years. Chopped basil can also be added to spaghetti, etc., too.

[Oakblossoms]

Trader Joes has a great greens mix. I love that. I add it to my lasagna layers and make enchilidas. Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms whatever you like. Add a bunch of greens to it. That is the filling. Wrap in the corn tortillas, top with sauce and bake.

[Dawn in OH]

My family, kids included LOVE salad. So I don't stress about "what else to do with greens". If you mix the kale, mustard greens, radicchio and chard in with the other lettuces no one should comment on the bitter or different tastes. Just make sure to outnumber the other greens with the ones you know they do like.

 

With the warm weather hitting, we have salad as part of our dinner nearly every night, either as a side or the main dish.

[HRAAB]

I usually always have spinach and kale in the house. Other than salads, soups and such, I do make green smoothies we all like. Also, I put spinach in scrambled eggs, friend potatoes, burritos. I would say mainly we eat it raw in salads and smoothies.

[Jane in NC]

I love chard that is sauteed with garlic, ginger, soy and a touch of sesame oil to finish.

 

Or kale sauteed with garlic and a couple of anchovies served on pasta with some freshly grated Parmesan and pepper.

 

I tuck spinach into meatballs or meatloaf as a way of adding some greens to our diet, particularly in the winter when I am less inclined to buy store lettuce. I add chopped kale to lentil soup.

 

The other day you were looking for something to add to your pizza meal. When your pizza comes out of the oven, toss a couple handfuls of arugula on it. Yum!

[Moira in MA]

Green leafies beyond lettuce and spinach: kale --lacinto, red and green, swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens, arugula, dandelion greens, collard greens, bok choy.

 

serving ideas:

kale: kale puttanesca; kale and potato stampot w/bratwürst;

chard: we made dolmas with the leaves instead of grape leaves recently; swiss chard soup; swiss chard lasagne; swiss chard quiche (spinach quiche is good, too!)

beet, turnip or dendelion greens, bok choy: sauté in oil oil with garlic and dash of soy sauce (spring turnips are great with their greens this way)

arugula: salad with baked golden beets and goat cheese with oil & vinegar dressing

collard greens: never touch them!!

 

hth

~Moira

[Quiver0f10]

Thanks for all the ideas!

[Laura Corin]

Most of my green vegetables (beans, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, etc.) get steamed, then dressed with butter or oil.

 

Laura

[Marylou]

Strawberries are here now, and when my girls wanted a strawberry shake the other day, I put a bunch of Swiss chard in the blender with all the other ingredients. They never said anything except "Yum" and "thanks!"

[Karen in CO]

Kale. Saute garlic in olive oil (you can also add onions), then add some water or veg broth and simmer until soft. It will take about 15 minutes. It has a mild flavor, but is more chewy than spinach. Really good, and really good for you. :001_smile:

 

Really really good. We love kale around here.

 

We also steam broccoli. We boil green beans. We cook asparagus with olive oil and garlic when its in season. And the best thing about summer is the basil. I plant tons of basil so that I can make pesto every week. It is one of my favorite summer flavors. I have never liked pesto until I started making it myself. Pesto is a vegetable, right?:D

[Lilymax]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet, but I have several friends who blend raw spinach into their usual fruit smoothies.

 

I saw a cooking show the other day where she made a salad of raw kale, pears, green onions, toasted pecans, and a little blue cheese, topped with vinaigrette. I thought that sounded good. I didn't know you could eat kale raw, as I've only ever seen it cooked. She said it's chewier than spinach, which I think sounds pretty good.

[In the Rain]

I know it just posted this in another thread- but we really like massaged kale salad. I make it without the onions or cheese. The kids like it too.

 

Two tips- Supervise kids if they are doing the massaging, or you could end up with 1/2 c. kale pulp floating in a sea of liquid. :tongue_smilie: Add the raisins at the table if you intend to store leftover salad in the fridge. The raisins plump up and look like little beebees in the salad. :001_huh: