Many ways to enjoy your leafy greens |03 June 2022

Thank you for joining us again here on our Eat for Our Health page.

Over the last few weeks we have been ‘singing the praises’ of green leafy vegetables and for very good reasons. Last week we focused on some of their nutritional benefits ranging from an abundance of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, phytochemicals and antioxidants which have a protective role against many chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

We've put together a wonderful collection of the many ways you can integrate those nutrient-packed leafy greens into your daily routine and hopefully get onto your creative side…

A little can go a long way

You see, the subject of healthy eating is going to become challenging as costs go up and availability is affected.
So it’s best to learn how to make some of the cheapest yet healthiest produce go a long way....for your wallet as well as for your health.
What's more,  they're available all year round and they're easy to prepare.
For easier reference we've grouped them according to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but feel free to swap them around as your mood takes you.

BREAKFAST GREENS

Smoothies
The easiest way to get your morning greens is to put them in Smoothies. You can use options like spinach or kale, along with your favourite fruits, some yoghurt, and you can also add some oatmeal, nuts and honey if needed for some natural sweetness.

Eggs
Chop up your leafy greens and  incorporate them in your egg dishes like omelette and scrambled eggs.
A boiled egg can also be chopped up and mixed with chopped watercress and yoghurt and herbs and served on a brown bread toast, or a cassava rusk (‘galet’).

LUNCH GREENS

Have some leftover rice or pasta from the night before?  Throw in your chopped fresh greens and some spring onions for a healthy Chinese fried rice, or into some leftover pasta or quinoa.

Salad
For some people Lunch generally means salads, and here all your varieties of greens come into their own, in whatever combinations take your fancy.
Keep salads interesting by varying their colors, textures and varieties. Make your own dressing using some lemon/ lime, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Avoid store-bought salad dressings which are usually high in salt.

Sandwiches/ wraps 
Wraps or tortillas or chapatis are also great carriers of greens and salads with your favourite sauces. A quick satisfying home-made wrap need not take more than 10 minutes to put together.

Use wholegrain bread slices/ bun to make a sandwich with added lettuce, watercress, spinach, arugula (rocket), and other vegetables such as carrots, tomato and capsicum for some extra flavour alongside fillings such as eggs, tuna, chicken, tofu, etc.

Stir-fry

Chopped spinach, Chinese cabbage, amaranth can be added together with olive oil, garlic, ginger and any other spices of your choice in a hot pan to create a beautiful stir-fry.

To enhance the nutritional value further add in other chopped or sliced vegetables such as capsicum, green beans, broccoli or carrots. Serve with some steamed sweet potatoes, breadfruit or brown rice and your favourite protein (e.g. fish, chicken, eggs, lentils, beans)

Steam
If you have a microwave, here's a quick health filling lunch that should take no more than six to seven minutes.
While you're baking a sweet potato in the microwave (6 minutes), your Chinese cabbage or broccoli can be steaming in the cooker.
                                   

DINNER GREENS

If by now you're cooking and eating responsibly and healthily, you would be having Breakfast like a proverbial King, Lunch like a Prince, and Dinner like a Pauper, so that you don't go to bed with a heavy stomach, and you dine a good three hours before your bedtime.
So, Dinner should be a breeze and the choices should be simple and straightforward.
 

Soup
Soup is another great way to use up your leafy greens. Add in some moringa, Chinese cabbage, amaranth or spinach towards the last few minutes of cooking.

Remember not to overcook your greens to maintain the maximum nutritional benefits from them. This includes in our own bouyon bred soudsin/bred mouroum.

The leaves without the stem can also be blended together with your creamy soup such as pumpkin/ carrot soup.

Avoid adding in instant soup powders/ ‘aromat’ when making soup but flavour it naturally using homemade stock, spices and herbs.

And let's not forget about packing a hearty lentils dish – either plain or as a curry – with loads of leafy greens.

Drop us a line

Drop us a little email on myhealthyplatesc@gmail.com and let us know how you're doing with these ideas, or better still, share your favourite dishes or tips.
We trust that with these tips you'll be able to explore the world of local leafy greens and give them the rightful place in your eating pattern.
Join us here on our Eat for Our Health page every week, and look for our pages on Social Media – Eat for our health Seychelles on Facebook, and @eat4ourhealth on Instagram.

Yours in health
The E4OH Team