Shake That Weight ^™ • 4th November 2015 • 10 years ago

The best of green veg!

Everyone knows that they should eat their greens to help improve their health. That’s because leafy vegetables are brimming with fiber along with vitamins, minerals, and plant-based substances that may help protect you from heart disease, diabetes, and perhaps even cancer. Even so, people do not eat as many vegetables each day as dietary experts recommend.

To encourage you to put more leafy vegetables on your plate, i have created a list of the best green veg:

1. Kale: This nutrition powerhouse offers  almost everything you want in a leafy green. It is an excellent source of the vitamins A C, and K, has a good amount of calcium. Kale also supplies folate and potassium. It’s ruffle-edged leaves may range in colour from light green to purple or black depending on the variety.
2. Swiss chard: With red stems, stalks, and veins on its leaves, Swiss chard has a beetroot-like taste and soft texture that’s perfect for steaming. Both Swiss chard and spinach contain oxalates, which are slightly reduced by cooking and can bind to calcium, a concern for people prone to kidney stones. Chard contains is a good source of vitamins A and C.
3. Spinach: Popeye’s favorite vegetable has 20 calories per serving, plus it’s packed with vitamins A and C, as well as folate. And because heat reduces the green’s oxalate content, freeing up its dietary calcium. Studies suggest that cooked spinach gives you more nutrition than raw. Spinach leaves can be cooked quickly in the water that remains on them after rinsing, or they can be eaten raw in salads.
4. Broccoli: With 25 calories a serving, broccoli is rich in vitamin C and A, potassium, and folate. Its stalks and florets add both crunch and color to stir-fries. While some kids may call this veggie “trees,” they often like it best raw or steamed with a yogurt-based dip.
5. Red and Green Leaf and Romaine Lettuce: A familiar sight in salad bowls, these lettuces are high in vitamin A and offer some folate. Leaf lettuces have a softer texture than romaine, a crunchy variety used in Caesar salads. Fans of Iceberg lettuce may go for romaine, a crispy green that’s better for you.
6. Cabbage: Although paler in color than other leafy greens, this cruciferous vegetable is a great source of cancer-fighting compounds and vitamin C.  Available in red and green varieties, cabbage can be cooked, added raw to salads or stir fries, shredded into a coleslaw, or made into sauerkraut.
7. Iceberg Lettuce: This bland-tasting head lettuce is mostly water. But it’s the country’s most popular leafy green and each of us eats about 17 pounds of iceberg a year. Although we’re eating less iceberg than we did two decades ago, it’s still a common ingredient on hamburgers and in taco salads. It makes my list as it can be a starter green to draw people into a broader array of salad greens.