What are some general ways to prepare leafy greens into ones diet? I can only stand so many salads...Thx!?

Question

Ok here's the problem. I want to incorporate more leafy greens in my diet like romaine lettuce, spinach, etc, but I get sick of eating salads. I prefer eating stir frys and baked dishes. Is there any way to get leafy greens in these type dishes without losing the nutrients? Thanks so much.... I appreciate your nutritional knowledge.

awesome answers...thanks everyone..i feel healthier just reading your answers!

Answer 1

I like greens sauteed with garlic and olive oil.

You could also icoporate them into a soup, risotto, or pasta dishes. Try these recipes:

BRAISED SWISS CHARD

2 large shallots, chopped
Olive oil as needed
1 large batch Swiss chard, stems removed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves
Half cup chicken broth

Sauté the shallots in the olive oil. Or, if you are including the chard stems, chop them and sauté them first. When they just start to soften add the shallots. After the shallots soften add the chard leaves, salt and pepper. As soon as the leaves reduce add the garlic and sauté one minute more. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce to low heat, cover, and cook until the chard is completely soft. About 10 minutes.

SPAGHETTI WITH MUSTARD GREENS

12 oz. spaghetti
2 batches of mustard greens
5 strips of bacon, sliced
Olive oil as needed
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 oz. white wine
1 can chicken broth
Parsley, chopped to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Try to time the pasta so that it’s done near the time the sauce is finished. I like to remove the pasta a minute or two early and finish it in the sauce. Prep the greens first and then turn on the heat for the pasta water as you start making the sauce. If the final sauce needs a little fluid you can always add some of the pasta water. Therefore, make sure you save a little bit before draining the pasta.
Remove the stems from the mustard greens, break them into smaller pieces with your hands and wash them thoroughly. Cut the bacon into small pieces and sauté it in the olive oil with the hot pepper until crisp. Do not drain the bacon fat. Add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the mustard greens a batch at a time with salt and pepper, adding more oil if necessary. When they are all incorporated add the garlic and sauté until the greens are fully wilted. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce to at least half. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Finish the pasta in the sauce, add the parsley and serve with the Parmesan cheese.

Answer 2

Use:

Arugula
Beet greens
Bok Choy
Chicory
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Endive
Kale
Mustard greens
Parsley
Radicchio
Spinach
Swiss chard
Turnip greens
Watercress

just to name a few. Make sure your greens are washed before using, and you might want to remove any large ribs from greens like Kale or Swiss chard or any other very large leaf. (I can make a vegetable serving out of a single two-foot-long Swiss chard leaf, torn into pieces and steamed)

To lessen the loss of nutrients during cooking, steam them, or bake them, so you don't throw away the nutrients with the cooking water. Also, don't over-cook them, they have a tendency to become bitter. Just lightly steamed is enough for most. For small leaves, I usually stop cooking before the leaf is completely wilted, as retained heat will finish the process, though you can cook to your preference and rinse immediately in cold water if you're going to add the leaves to an already hot dish.

How to serve? Plain steamed greens, topped with just a touch of salt and butter, margarine, spread or Butter Buds, or even olive oil. I like stuffed shells with a mix of spinach and ricotta cheese, or lasagna made with spinach. Or sweat some greens in a pan with just a bit of bacon grease, then top with crumbled bacon. Definitely add them chopped to your favorite stir-fry. Or it could be as easy as adding the fresh leaves to a sandwich wrap. Use your greens to help top a pizza. Because they need so little cooking, I've tossed uncooked spinach with freshly cooked pasta, a bit of olive oil, Parmesan cheese and a touch of black pepper. By the time you get it to the table and take a serving and put it on your plate, the greens are just barely cooked. To add a little crunch, add toasted almond slivers to steamed green leafy vegetables.

Answer 3

Salads dont have to be boring.
I like salads with heaps of different lettuces, tomato, walnuts or pine nuts, cheese, radish, carrot,

and do you know that cream chesse stuff with the chives swirl? well that tastes really good when its chopped up in a salad.

You can put practically anything you want into a salad.
Here are some good ones

Waldorf salad

Chilled apples- 1 green, 1 red
Cored and diced
Cover in the juice of ½ lemon
Add 1 cup finely chopped celery, ½ cup walnuts, ¼ cup mayonnaise, Stir it up and wallah!

Warm pumpkin feta salad

Boil a diced butternut pumpkin until tender> drain
Add to ½ cup slivered almonds, 4 cups chopped English spinach, sliced red onion and ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Toss gently
Heat 4 T red wine vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil and freshly ground pepper in a fry pan and stir
Drizzle over salad with crumble feta


You could put the leafy greens into a burger of some sort.

Spinach, bok choy and other random spinachy loooking stuff can be put into stir frys.

You can put spinach in quiches. I have this yummy recipe for spinach.

Feta Spinach Bake

1 ½ cups of rice cooked
1 finely chopped onion, boiled in microwave with nutmeg
2 cups of spinach boiled in microwave (get the stuff from the frozen section as its already shredded)
300g feta finely crumbled
1 cup of grated cheese
8 eggs
Mix well
Bake in a glass dish for 30-40min

All da best!

Answer 4

Spinach Goma-ae
My favorite. It's Japanese. The dressing can be used on many different veggys
ie green beans, eggplant


large bunches of fresh spinach, washed thoroughly and stems removed
toasted sesame seeds

For the dressing:

1/4 cup sake
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
4 tsp liquid sweetener (brown rice syrup is best)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
water to thin, if necessary

First, steam the spinach until just wilted. Remove from heat and rinse under cold water to refresh. Chop into one inch thick strips and place in a bowl. For the dressing, heat the sake until just boiling (to simmer off the alcohol), and set aside. In your blender or food processor, grind the sesame seeds until they are a paste, then add the sake and all other ingredients and process until smooth. Stir this into the steamed and chopped spinach, then portion out into four small bowls, and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds. Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4. They are small servings, as is traditional.

Answer 5

Most greens should be cooked lightly to preserve their nutrients; so if you want to add some spinach to your stir-fry, wait until you're almost ready to remove the food from pan to plate, add the roughly-chopped leaves, toss for thirty seconds, then serve immediately. That's all the cooking time the greens will need. (Maybe less, if your stove is really hot.)

Ever tried bok choy? -- delicious. The bulb part is thicker than the leaf so it will need more cooking, but both parts are equally good in stir fries. Celery also gains something when used in a stir fry (at least I think so).

Answer 6

Soups are a great way to add leafy green into your diet. Have a can of vegetable soup? Toss in some kale as you heat it up. Rapini is great added to fettuccine alfredo and always make sure your stir frys have Bok Choy. Have a variety of cole slaws as a side dish for sandwiches. Don't forget that broccoli is considered a leafy green as well. Broccoli, rice and cheese make a great casserole.

Answer 7

You can always use leafy lettuce for lettuce wraps. Add grilled skin less chicken breat pieces with fresh veggies like roasted peppers. If you want to add low fat cheese then you can do that. They have a Kens Steak house dressing that would be good with that to. Its a light dressing (a ton less cal and fat then normal dressing) and its Asian dressing with Ginger and something else. You can miss it, its the only flavor like that for that brand. Thats all I can think of for now.

Answer 8

How about those Thai-style wraps like Cheesecake factory serves? They take cooked shredded cut up meats and vegetables and serve them on a plate with large lettuce or cabbage leaves. The idea is to take a heap of the fillings and wrap the veggie leaf around them just as you would with a flour tortilla.

Answer 9

Leaves can be blended into dips, gravies, even mashed potatoes. Also, you can make a "taco casserole" with tostito chips and taco meat and cheese, with sour cream and lettuce and tomato on top. Every time you eat any kind of sandwich or burger, stick a couple leaves of lettuce or spinach in it - it adds some crunch to the sandwich.

Answer 10

as someone who has ate fresh greens my whole life and thought no canned product could compare, i was greatly surprised , and i recommend this,,, the brand name is GLORY you can find many varieties, my fave is the mixed, so good you dont have to add anything just heat and eat, with a piece of corn bread it is the closest to heaven i ve ever been, worth the try and very nutriecous, dont think i spelled that right, but still soooooooooooooo goood. my four and two year old ask for them regularly, hope you enjoy/