[Jasmine31]

Okay so I am trying to increase my eating of green leafy vegetables. I already do romaine. I do spinach occasionally and am trying to up that as well. I bought kale and mustard greens today with the idea of throwing it in my salad. But when I went on worlds healthiest foods website it says "nutrients in kale , boiled" same with mustard greens. I thought most nutrients in vegetables get lost by boiling(cept potatoes) and to eat fresh or lightly steamed. What is the deal! Arrggghhhhhh....

How does everyone else like to eat these veggi's?

[joyofsix]

Maybe check out allrecipes.com or another recipe site for some ideas. The only way I eat kale is in soup, and the way my grandmother fixed greens is definitely not healthy.

[Glory87]

I have a great white bean and kale soup recipe! Let me know if you are interested and I will PM it to you! The Super Foods cookbook also has a crispy kale recipe (roasted, I think). I have never tried it, but I would send that to you too, if you want.

I wilt spinach all the time with a tiny bit of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. I bet other leafy greens would taste good like that too. I also throw spinach, bok choy into stir fries. Spinach is good in pasta sauce, I bet finely shredded kale would be yummy in pasta sauce!

The fancy organic grocery store near where I live has the BEST salad. They call it "emerald city salad" and it is made with kale. I wish I knew the recipe for the salad/dressing, it is incredible! So, I know it can be used in salad.

*EDIT*
Found a recipe online!!!!
http://www.mothering.com/sections/re...ity-salad.html

I am now inspired!

I put kale under the broiler then sprinkle a little sea salt on it and eat it like potato chips - yummy!

Note: keep a close eye on it. I tear up a whole head of kale and it is under the broiler for 5 minutes tops. I don't leave the kitchen.

[Jasmine31]

Thanx so much for the ideas ladies! Does it taste as good as potato chips?

Glory:

Thanx for the recipe link. Yes please feel free to send any of your whole food recipes.

I do alot of whole foods now as is, LOTS of fruit, lots of tomato sauce, tomatos, onion, garlic, brown rice, lots of beans, yogurt, cheese, chicken, gr. turkey, nuts. I keep red meat to 1-2 a week. We usually do broccoli, cauliflour, carrots twice a week and I am trying to increase that. Salads usually 2-3 times a week and I am trying to increase that as well to every nite.

I have been doing more reading lately. I know one book that helped to change my life two years ago when I first started was Fit For life, By Diamond Harvey, 2003 edition. I re borrowed it from the library this summer to brush up on it again. I didn't take everything to heart back then, but did with the lots of fruit idea and only fruit til noon, my energy really increased then and now after reading an article about women needing 4700 mg of potassium, I am REALLY upping the fruit even more( my blood pressure is a little on the high side) I am trying to up the veggies more too, thank God beans and yogurt got lots of potassium in them.

Anyhow, the premise of his book is to eat half "living food" (he is talking raw fruits and veggies, he is not saying raw meat though but he refers to living food not meaning "whole foods", but like fruits , vegetables and nuts... i.e. anything NOT cooked ) and "the other half of your food, cooked food".

I don't agree with every last detail in his book, but I do agree with alot. He has another book I just started reading. Fit For Life, A New Beginning, The Ultimate Diet and Health Plan. I am not done with it yet but it is really good. When I get the cash I think I will just buy both these books off amazon. Anyhow he describes the 7 stages of disease and is a firm believer that at any time with us turning the tables around and changing our eating lifestyles, our body's can heal themselves(as long as it has not reached a point of no return.) It really makes alot of sense. I am a firmn believer in eating your way to better health.

67 pounds is a big improvement from where I was 2 years ago but I am just ready to kick it up a notch.

Anyhow so I really want to up the veggies more, I know I should. I was also fascinated by the fact of what you said you are doing now, in another thread (vegetarian based, but not excluding dairy, limiting meat)

I do NOT feel vegetarian is the way to go for me, but I do like the idea of really upping the veggies more and keeping meat to more of a minimum.

Breakfast is always fruit around here. Lunch depends, sometimes peanut butter and home made whole wheat bread, (I have my own grain mill and use honey instead of sugar), alot of times a cup of beans with a litttle cheese and alot of salsa, sometimes a cup of chili beans, sometimes it is yogurt and walnuts, sometimes it is a salmon salad. I am thinking of making two nites for dinner, beans and brown rice and veggies, ( NO MEAT) like with whole wheat tortillas as burritos, etc.

How many meat less nites are you doing?

I did find another very interesting link I will share with you....



Very good article. They eat meat too but limit it.

[Jasmine31]

Oh I wanted to add I asked for the super foods book at the library, they are trying to get it in, I have always wanted to read that, should of got it hen I had my income tax check but that is another book when I get extra of I will buy.

[Glory87]

Originally Posted by Jasmine31

How many meat less nites are you doing?

I will PM you the recipes this weekend!

Except for grilled salmon or shrimp stir fry occasionally, almost every dinner I make at home is meatless. I have made pasta sauce a few times with spicy chicken meatballs (which makes a fabulous spicy sub on whole what hotdog bun the next day), but normally I use Morning Star farms veggie crumbles. I do eat cubed turkey on my salads at lunch a lot (we have a decent salad bar in the building I work in) and I sometimes buy canned salmon to make salmon salad sandwiches for lunch on the weekends. I make turkey sandwiches occasionally, but my usual weekend lunch is either veggie tacos or roasted vegetables.

I would say I average 5 meatless nights a week. But, right now I am just cooking for me and meatless dishes make me happy.

Some of my favorite meatless dishes:

• Roasted vegetables over quinoa/couscous/brown rice/polenta
• Grilled vegetables over quinoa/couscous/brown rice/polenta (I have a great spicy tomato sauce for grilled vegetables!)
• Tofu stir fry over brown rice
• Veggie tacos
• Home made pasta sauce with veggie crumbles, tomatoes, mushrooms over whole wheat pasta
• Home made pizza with Boboli whole wheat crust (too lazy to make pizza with Trader Joe's whole wheat dough), spinach, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, fat free feta cheese
• Omelettes - 2 egg omelette (extra omega 3), spinach, zucchini, onions, other vegetables, a sprinkle of feta/chevre, topped with tons of salsa
• Quesadillas - spinach (package of thawed defrosted spinach), sun dried tomato, a little cumin, white pepper, red pepper flakes, artichoke hearts, 1/2 can healthy choice cream of mushroom soup, a little cheese to stick it together between 2 whole wheat tortillas
• Quesadillas - black bean, very small roasted cubed sweet potato, small can of green chiles, 2 cans drained whole tomatoes, spinach leaves, a little low fat cheese to stick it all together, whole wheat tortillas
• Curry - tofu, low fat coconut milk, vegetables over brown rice
• Chickpea, spinach, tomato, zucchini soup

[sarah44]

I love bitter greens like kale and mustard greens cooked with a bunch of sliced onions and chicken sausage - my favorite is Trader Joe's garlic chicken sausage, but you can check the label of any chicken sausage to see how healthy it is (some brands have a lot of fat). Wash and chop the greens, and then slice 2-4 cups of onions. Cook the onions for about 10 minutes, and then add in the greens (kale first because it takes longer to cook) and cook them until they're willted and tender. You can brown the sausage separately or just heat it in the same pan.

A vegetarian variation is to cook the greens and onions in the same way, and then sprinkle them with feta, and serve over pasta. Any mixture of greens will work for these recipes - spinach, swiss chard, collards, kale, mustard greens, etc.

[Jennifer 3FC]

I just referenced 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,(one of my favorite books ever!) and Jonny Bowden says kale is possibly the highest ranking antioxidant vegetable on the planet. He said he eats it 5x a week by chopping it, mixing with pine nuts, dried cranberries, and olive oil. The oil softens it up and makes it more tender.

[Glory87]

Oooh that book is waiting for me at the library!! Can't wait!

That explains how my favorite PCC market uses kale in their Emerald City Salad so successfully, it has a really yummy lemon/olive oil dressing.

[Jasmine31]

I will PM you the recipes this weekend!

Sounds great! If it's not too much trouble.

I would say I average 5 meatless nights a week. But, right now I am just cooking for me and meatless dishes make me happy.

That is cool but you still get meat for lunch so that is a good balance. I think that is what I am going to try to do. Like a few meatless meals at nite but have the salmon or chicken, turkey for lunch.

Some of my favorite meatless dishes:

Those sound good!

Home made pasta sauce with veggie crumbles, tomatoes, mushrooms over whole wheat pasta

I make h.m. sauce too and sometimes we don't even add any meat. Bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, I was thinking of getting brave and trying to throw squash in there as well.

What w.w. pasta is best? I tried a penne one recently from smart n final and hated it!

W.W Pizza....we make that about once every two weeks around here with the flour I grind. VERY yummy! I usually add tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, pineapple , olives,chicken, mozarella.

(too lazy to make pizza with Trader Joe's whole wheat dough)

You are not lazy, you work FT too!

Omelettes I wind up having about once a month, I rarely ever crave eggs.

The quesedillas sound good too and of course tacos are good any time! lol

Thanx so much for sharing!!

sarah44:

my favorite is Trader Joe's garlic chicken sausage, but you can check the label of any chicken sausage to see how healthy it is (some brands have a lot of fat).

Yeah I just noticed how fatty the ground turkey from smart n final was recently! Yikes! No T'J's up here.

A vegetarian variation is to cook the greens and onions in the same way, and then sprinkle them with feta, and serve over pasta. Any mixture of greens will work for these recipes - spinach, swiss chard, collards, kale, mustard greens, etc

.

Thanx for the recipe that sounds good!!

Jennifer 3FC:

I just referenced 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,(one of my favorite books ever!) and Jonny Bowden says kale is possibly the highest ranking antioxidant vegetable on the planet. He said he eats it 5x a week by chopping it, mixing with pine nuts, dried cranberries, and olive oil. The oil softens it up and makes it more tender.

Thanx , I will have to add that book on to my stack of what I need to read, just found out the Pratt super food book came in for me at the library.

[WaterRat]

I sometimes buy canned salmon to make salmon salad sandwiches for lunch on the weekends

Glory, if you can do it, leftovers from your broiled salmon makes much better salmon salad. Depending of course, on what kind of salmon you're buying canned. Many brands are a lesser quality salmon. What do you put with the salmon? I make it for my DH with mayo, celery and onions, but I'd like to cut down/out the mayo.

[Glory87]

Originally Posted by WaterRat

Glory, if you can do it, leftovers from your broiled salmon makes much better salmon salad. Depending of course, on what kind of salmon you're buying canned. Many brands are a lesser quality salmon. What do you put with the salmon? I make it for my DH with mayo, celery and onions, but I'd like to cut down/out the mayo.

Hey Pat!

I'm actually not sure since I don't have a can right now, I normally buy it from Whole Foods - any tips what to look for to make sure I get a good canned salmon (besides wild caught?). I hadn't considered making salmon salad with broiled salmon, I usually buy a single piece for jus tme and then eat it all! ha (Plus the cost difference from fresh/canned).

I do use low fat mayo in my salmon salad, but it's the only mayo I ever eat and I use just enough to stick it all together (maybe a little over a 1 tbs for 4 servings?). I add onions and pickles to mine!

Hey Jasmine!

I don't really have a favorite brand of WW pasta, I am surprisingly unpicky and haven't disliked any brand. I just peeked in the cupboard and two brands I currently have are:

Naturally Preferred Organic Whole Wheat Rotini
Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole wheat Blend rotini (I am a sucker for pasta in cute shapes)

I am sending you some recipes via PM

Jen

[phantastica]

I chop up kale and throw it in every kind of soup, including canned, just to give it some extra oomph. One of my favorites is tomato soup with kale.

I also cook various greens by sauteeing in olive oil with fresh minced garlic, lemon juice, and pepper.

[WaterRat]

Glory - you want red (sockeye) if you can find it. It's the firmest fleshed salmon, and holds up to canning the best. Most Alaskans would tell you to avoid pink salmon altogether, but I know it's what is in a lot of cans. It's still nutritious, but a soft texture, bland tasting fish (IMHO ) I do forget that salmon is so expensive (esp wild-caught) as I never buy it. But should you ever have leftovers, it's excellent in salad.