Helpful Tips For Green Leafy Vegetables

Green leafy vegetables have key nutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium and Fiber. They are also a great low-calorie food! Try these tips for buying, storing, and cooking green leafy vegetables.

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Choose the Freshest Greens

• Look for moist, crisp greens with rich color.
  
• Avoid those that are yellowish or brownish, or have slimy leaves.
  
• Greens can go bad quickly!  So only buy what you can use in a short amount of time.

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Storing Greens

• Wrap washed greens in a paper towel and place in a plastic bag. Keep in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• Plan to eat greens within 1-4 days after you buy them.
  

Quick Tip

If the leaves appear wilted, you can cut them into pieces and place them in a large bowl of water for about an hour. They will often plump up and be fine to eat.

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Washing Greens

• Remove leaves from thick stems and place in large bowl of cold water. Swish them around then remove leaves (do not drain using a strainer because you will mix the dirt back in) and discard water.
• Repeat until no more dirt appears in the bowl. Pat with towel or paper tower.

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Freezing Greens

Blanching means to place foods in boiling water for a short amount of time
(a few seconds to 1 minute depending on the vegetable) 

• Greens like spinach, Swiss chard, and kale can be frozen, but you must blanch them first and place in a zip-top freezer bag or other air tight container.
  

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Make Kale Tender and Less Bitter

Kale can taste bitter. By massaging kale leaves with citrus juice and olive oil, you can make a kale side dish with a tangy kick. Just follow these three steps:

1. Add 1 tsp of lemon or lime juice
2. Add 1 tsp olive oil
3. Massage ingredients into leaves with your hands
   

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Cooking Greens

• Greens can be added to soups and stews, eaten raw in salads or juiced with other greens and vegetables.
  
• You can cook greens by steaming, boiling, or microwaving.
  

Quick Tip

When microwaving, cook for 2 minutes for every 2 cups of greens. Make sure to use a microwave safe bowl, and cover the greens with a damp paper towel.​

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Try These Recipes Using Greens!

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Kale Slaw

Fall Kale and Quinoa Salad

Kale Chips

Smothered Greens

Mango Green Smoothie