4 Easy Ways to Eat More Greens

Leafy greens are some of the healthiest foods on the planet.  Edible leafs such as kale, collard greens, swiss chard, the many varieties of lettuce, mustard greens, frisee, cilantro, parsley, spinach, arugula, broccoli rabe, dandelion greens, cabbage, bok choy, turnip greens and beet greens are some of the best foods you can put in your body.

Organic dandelion greens on their way to be planted.

Why are leafy greens (especially dark leafies) so good for you?

These beauties are jam-packed with vitamins, minerals and cancer fighting compounds, more than most all other foods, while being incredibly low in calories and fat.  

Kale for example, contains 100 mg of calcium in just 1 cup, as well as 329 mg of postassium, 95 mcg of folate, 80 mg of vitamin C, 335 mcg of vitamin A, 3971 mcg of beta-carotene, 5493 mcg of lutein + zeaxanathin and SO many more health enhancing compounds in trace amounts (1).

Freshly picked organic kale.  Yes, that's me in the field!

But as Americans, we're barely eating these glorious leafy greens and you should be eating them everyday!  Your goal is to eat leafy greens at least one time each day!

But to do this you need easy and delicious techniques to actually eat them, that both you and your family will love.    

4 Easy Ways to Eat More Greens

1.  Make delicious dressings and sauces.

When you pour amazing dressings and sauces over salads or steamed greens, it makes it delectable to eat them.  I LOVE Cathy Fisher's avocado-cucmber dressing which even has leafy greens in it!  Or, try this lemon-tahini dressing, again from the talented Cathy Fisher (2).

Make a large batch of dressing every 3-5 days and keep in your fridge.  This way, you'll always have delicious dressings on hand and you can ditch those bottles of ranch that are disastrous for you.

2.  Eat more than 1 type of green in your salads.  

Instead of just ice-berg lettuce, try romaine combined with spinach, and cilantro for example.  This would be great with black beans, sweet potato chunks, peppers, onions and salsa on-top.

You can also find pre-made salad mixes in the grocery store, or freshly picked and more exciting salad mixes at your local farmer's market.  

When you add an amazing dressing from the examples provided above, it will be so easy to start munching on salad.  You won't want to stop!

Make sure you top your greens with other veggies, herbs and beans (even potato chunks!) to make your salad even more delicious.  

3.  Add leafy greens to smoothies.  

Next time you make a fruit smoothie try adding just 1 leaf of kale or collard greens, 1-2 pieces of romaine, or a 1/2 C of raw spinach.  Because the taste of fruit is so sweet, you'll never even taste the greens!  

I'll even add romaine leaves to my banana ice-cream.  Romaine is a bit sweet so you don't taste it, plus, it turns the "ice-cream" green!  (You could turn it into mint chocolate chip ;-).  

P.S. kids love fruit smoothies, even with greens!

4.  Add finely chopped greens to soups and most meals.

This is a very simple technique.  Chop 1 kale leaf or other 'tougher greens' like mustards, collards or swiss chard very finely.  Then, simply add this small amount to a large pot of stew, chili, on-top of your pizza, in pasta or into your veggie burger mix.  Add spinach leaves to a sandwich or a rice and bean bowl and then add a bit of chopped romaine on-top.

You can also buy pre-chopped frozen kale (or other greens) mixes and simply 'pour' them into chili or soup.  

Every little bit of leafy green counts, so try and add them whenever and wherever you can!  

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Now I'd love to hear from you.  What did you think of this article?  I encourage your to share your comments and feedback below, to share this article with a friend and show me some love by 'liking' this article.  Thanks!

Take Control Now Question

What's your favorite way to incorporate greens into your daily diet?  Which one of these techniques would you try first and why?

References 

1.  Kale, USDA Nutrient Database, Accessed online July 2014 at http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3030?fg=&man=&lfacet=&count=&max=25&sort=&qlookup=kale&offset=&format=Full&new=&measureby=#id-1

2. Cathy Fisher, www.StraightUpFood.com

How to Make Blueberry Breakfast Crisp

It's berry season in Oregon which is the perfect time to make cobbler or crisps.  Crisps that are  so delicious and nutritious, you can even eat it for breakfast... or dinner!  I made this Berry Breakfast Crisp for meat lovers this 4th of July weekend and they loved it!  

Click the below video to learn how to make the crisp or just keep reading on!

Most crisps and cobblers contain white flour, butter and loads of sugar -- foods that will not help you lose weight (and keep it off) and will not help your family members struggling with diabetes or heart disease.  In order to stop the progression of chronic diseases and help you lose weight permanently, it's imperative you begin to incorporate whole, plant-based meals into your daily diet.

This includes desserts as well.  Just because plant-based desserts don't (or shouldn't) include a lot of fat; animal products like butter and eggs; and refined foods such as white flour, oil and sugar; this doesn't mean dessert won't taste amazing (or sweet!) as you'll find out with today's Blueberry Breakfast Crisp.    

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I adapted this recipe from Cathy Fisher's Apple-Pineapple Crisp.  She's an amazing chef that makes plant-based meals without added salt, sugar or oil.  

Here's what you'll need for my Blueberry Breakfast Crisp.

Ingredients, Crisp Filling:

• 3 cups blueberries (rinsed)
• 1 cup blackberries (rinsed)
• 9 dates, chopped
• 3/4 cup water (or 100% juice of your liking)
• 3 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients, Topping:

• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 6 dates, chopped
• 2 TB water
• 1/2 ripe banana, diced

Directions:

Turn the oven to 375 degrees.  Add all 'filling' ingredients into a bow and mix gently.  Pour into a pie pan or baking dish.  Place topping ingredients into a blender or a food processor and pulse only a few times just until the mixture is blended together (you don't want the oats to turn into flour).  Spread the topping mixture over the filling evenly and press down gently.  Cook for 30 minutes (when the topping is slightly brown).  Let the crisp sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe extras:

- I drizzled honey on top of the crisp fresh out of the oven.

- You can save and store the crisp for up to 5 days in the fridge.  

- This tastes delicious with my banana ice-cream on top!  

- Eat for breakfast, dinner or dessert.

I'd love to hear from you about this Breakfast Blueberry Crisp.  Type your feedback in the comments section below.

Take Control Now

Would you make this recipe?  Ever eaten a healthy plant-based dessert?  Does this crisp look yummy?  Even better -- make it and let me know what you think!

The 'Eat ONE New Plant-Based Meal' Challenge

Is it a challenge for you to eat more plant-based meals?  Do you find it's challenging to keep meals exciting?  Today I'm going to help you overcome this.  How?

While challenging you to eat one new plant-based meal, I'm also giving you 4 implementation steps to ensure you make this happen.

If you're already eating a lot of plant-based meals (good for you!), your challenge is to try one NEW meal.  On the other hand, if plant-based meals aren’t really your thing, your goal is to eat one meal that is made entirely of whole, plant foods. 

Now you may be thinking "ok I'm going to do this" but things always come up right?  Kids have to get to hockey, then there's book club, volunteer work and so on. 

So, to ensure you actually eat this meal, here are my 4 implementation steps.

Step 1.  Decide how much time you have to make a meal

Take out your calendar/planner.  Yes seriously, go get it right now. 

Open it up… what does your next week looks like?  How much time will you have to cook? 

If you have a lot going on, choosing a quick and simple new recipe might be better for you.  Or, if you have more free time, then a maybe you'd like to cook a more intricate meal?

Step 2.  Pick a new recipe that fits your time frame

Take note when your recipe browsing...

- How long will it take to prepare?

- Who are you cooking for?  Yourself of your family?

- Are you already familiar with the ingredients?

When you're choosing a recipe, it should be made of...

- whole, plant foods (no animal products) and

- ideally, oil-free to save you 100s of unnecessary calories

Below are some yummy recipes to help you get started.  You can also find more of my favorite recipes on my Pinterest board, 'Family Recipes' (@TrishaMandes).    

Additionally, when you sign up for email updates at www.TrishaMandes.com you get a FREE resource guide that will give you the BEST recipe websites delivered instantly to your inbox.  Yee-ha!

Here are a few recipes that adhere to my guidelines AND taste delicious!

Burrito bowl from Cathy Fisher (yes I love her recipes!)

Stuffed baked potatoes from Cathy Fisher

Sweet potato salad from Cathy Fisher

BBQ beans and greens from Cathy Fisher

Banana Ice-Cream from Trisha Mandes

Ambrosia Fruit Salad from PCRM (kids love this recipe!)

Once you've picked your recipe you're ready for the next step.

Step 3.  Make a grocery list and save it where you can't forget it!

And this is even easier with cell phones.  You can simply look-up the recipe from your phone in the store, or keep a grocery list stored in your phone. 

Just remember to keep it somewhere where you won't forget it.  In your phone, the car glove box or your wallet.

Step 4.  Schedule shopping and cooking dates

As Marie Forleo says, "If it's not scheduled, it's not real."

Again, open up your calendar and schedule… (if you were watching the video right now, you'd see some dancing and hear from Finnish hip-hop music!)

- When are you going to go shop?  Write in your planner the date, time and store or stores you will visit.

- When are you going to cook?  Write in your planner the date, time and for whom you'll cook. 

Now it's time for you to implement this information, hold yourself accountable AND motivate others to follow-through as well.  To do this, I want you to enter the following information in the comments section at the end of this article.  Let me and the TrishaMandes.com community know…

Take Control Now

1.  What recipe did you choose?  Include the recipe's direct website link.  You might find something someone else would like to try.

2.  Write the date, time and place you're going to shop AND cook.

I encourage you to do this challenge with a friend or family member.  Share this video and article  with them and have them sign up for email updates at www.TrishaMandes.com so we can all do this together.  We all do better when we have support!  

Get educated, get support and take control.  You can get the healthy body you deserve.