Lettuce eat more greens!  

Back in 2012, when I was finishing my studies as a Nutritional Health Coach, I made one of the biggest changes to how I eat. I started adding green leaves into every single meal. Six years later I still do.

Greens: spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, salads, collards, pak choy, watercress, rocket, cabbage.

They boost our immune systems, they purify our blood, they promote healthy intestines, they prevent cancer, they improve how our liver and kidneys function, they reduce mucus, and yet they are one of the groups of foods most commonly missing in modern diets.

Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are loaded with fibre, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all.

Over the last years, the availability and variety of green leaves available has really improved – whether through vegetable basket schemes (see last blog) or organic shops or markets. Even the supermarkets have really improved on the offer.

 

 

Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be boiled cabbage! Eating greens can be so tasty and exciting.

For example:

Add a few greens to a fruit smoothie. Recipe here:

Try a pak choy salad with feta and sumac:

A spinach and aubergine curry:

Loads more recipes here:

So as the days get darker and immune systems have to work harder – give them a good boost of greens.

Don’t take my word for it – try it and see.