As I’ve already mentioned I’ve been craving a lot of greens lately. Fortunately for myself I have plenty of green vegetables growing in my garden, and so last evening I went out and picked more collards and kale.
Quite a bit of the green veggies were turned into collard and kale chips. I’ll post the recipe in a later post. Kale chips are a tasty (and healthy) snack. It was hard not to put all my greens into my soon to be chip pile, but I managed, and I was able to make a green smoothie.
Green smoothies are something my daughter and I drink daily. The green smoothies I make are delicious and nutritional powerhouses. Yep, they are chock full of vitamins and minerals. Something that not only taste good, but is good for you too. You can’t beat that right? Yes, the smoothies are Vegan. The green smoothies are a much better choice than the many of the empty calorie drinks that are flooding the market.
A few facts about greens
Did you know that ounce for ounce collards have more calcium than milk? Shocking stuff, I know and something you most likely won’t hear too often if you’re listening to mainstream media. According to many of those sources, milk is where it’s at, right?
Importance of Vitamin K
Another powerful vitamin you’ll find in most green leafy veggies is Vitamin K. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color, It also provides vitamin K. Many people overlook this amazing vitamin. We really shouldn’t since it plays an extremely important role in calcium circulation and bone formation. There have been numerous studies done that show low levels of vitamin K are linked to low bone density. Don’t forget your vitamin K!
Spinach and Oxalic acid
Ok back to the calcium, it’s true dark greens are an excellent source of calcium. However, there is one dark green that shouldn’t be counted (at least not by itself) on for calcium. Which dark green is that? Spinach. The reason is simple, spinach contains a high amount of oxalic acid. Oxalic acid removes calcium from the blood. When you eat spinach it’s best to pair it with foods that are loaded with vitamin C since this will help cancel out the oxalic acid.
Green Energy Drink
- 4 cups unsweetened apple juice
- 1 cup grapes
- 2 cups kale and collards
- 1″ ginger root (if you don’t like spicy leave out the ginger)
*If you don’t like your smoothie thick add more apple juice.
Directions
- In a blender add all ingredients
- Blend until smooth
- Drink and enjoy
This is one of the numerous high energy drinks I make throughout the week. It’s all natural, sweet, and it’s good for you. I naturally have a lot of energy but this drink gives me even more.
For those of you who aren’t eating enough vegetables, why not give smoothies a try? Smoothies are a great way to add more vegetables into your diet without the ‘taste’ of the vegetables. Personally, I do like the way vegetables taste however, if you aren’t used to them but would like to add more to your diet, green smoothies are a tasty (and delightfully sneaky) way to accomplish that. Enjoy!
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Gardening, Recipe, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian
The past several days I’ve been on a green kick (of the vegetable variety) and so you’ll find garden greens sprouting up in a variety of my dishes. I love experimenting in the kitchen. It’s so much fun coming up with a new recipes that’s not only delicious too eat but is healthy too.