How Are Your Greens This Year?

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Fresh greens are marvelous!  They are good in salads and on sandwiches, and they are also great cooked as an accompaniment for beef, chicken, or fish.  

·         1 cup of fresh spinach contains 7 calories and it is high niacin and zinc, and very high in fiber, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.  If you choose to cook it, don’t load it up with fat and salt.

·         1 cup of fresh raw turnip greens contains 18 calories.  This amount of greens will not add calories merely by cooking, but the tendency is to add bacon grease or butter and eat it with cornbread.  Beware—you have added many calories.  Turnip greens are high in iron, riboflavin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin B6.  Remember that cooking doesn’t add calories, but the greens wilt and become less filling.  A cup of cooked greens has 29 calories.  And the tendency to add salt and seasonings may change the health benefits.

·         1 cup of mustard greens contains 15 calories.  They have a spicier flavor than turnip greens and they give a new experience when mixed with other greens.  They are high in niacin and phosphorus, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

There are many other types of greens, but they have similar nutrients and benefits.  You may add them to noodles, casseroles, or soup or eat them fresh.  The nutrient value alone is reason enough to add them to your diet.

Remember that they are fresh and will not stay that way for extended periods in the crisper.  When you have eaten all you want of them raw, do a quick steam or microwave them for 90 seconds, and you have reduced the amount significantly without losing the nutrition.  And they are plentiful in the grocery store!