Eating-But Not Wearing-Green Today

I'm not going to lie to you-I am not wearing green. It's just not my color. I am 100% on board with Valentine red, July 4th red, white and blue,  Halloween orange and well, that's about it. You won't see green on this body-ever. I'm just sayin.

Enter the fields of green produce. On any given day, you'll see me eating green foods....lettuces, spinach, kale, grapes, cucs, etc.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm giving a special shout out to the Superbowl produce powerhouse avocado, underrated and disrespected brussels sprouts and the now-second-to-the-newest-dark-leafy-green-media-darling-kale- spinach. Here's how I'll do it:

Lunch-avocado slices added to my bean burrito (and tomato, too)

Dinner-strawberry salad with spinach, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and grana padano cheese along with sauteed brussels sprouts-seasoned with a touch of olive oil, shallots, salt and pepper

Pretty basic. No need to be fancy to get your greens in for the day-St. Patty's day or not, these greenies have nutrients and phytonutrients that we need every day. Not to mention they are fiber rich and, best of all--THEY TASTE GOOD. I get it-I know-we aren't going to eat anything unless it tastes good.

Here's a few recipes to get you started to a tasty green menu today:

Ina G's Roasted Brussels Sprouts 
A tasty take on the spinach and strawberry salad mentioned above 
Another one of Ina's-grapefruit and avocado salad

Let's hear how you incorporated your "greens" today! Posting recipes is encouraged!

St. Patty's Day Gives us Reason to EAT Green, not Just Wear it!

Here's the deal. St. Patrick's Day can come and go and I wouldn't even know. I am not wearing green today, don't care if I get pinched and won't be partaking in corned beef or green beer. Yes, yes, I know-I'm no fun. However, I would like to take this rare opportunity to highlight this holiday (using this term loosely, I might add), to bring out the green of season. No, not money green-food green!

Green is one of those colors to look for in the store. The dark green foods=healthy foods. Antioxidant, vitamin and mineral rich and
fiber-rific! I mean really, what green food can you think of (besides the a few fake/highly processed foods and the light green marshmallows in a Lucky Charms box-they really aren't magically delicious-but note the tie into St. Patty's Day) that AREN'T good for you?


So here's the deal. Green foods have the substances isothiocyanates, EGCG, Lutein/Zeaxanthin and Isoflavones....powerful antioxidants that can help fight the damage caused to our cells over time that can lead to premature aging and a whole host of diseases. These particular foods and substances help support cell health, support arterial function, lung health and help us to maintain healthy liver function.


Here's the other deal. The fruit/veggie must be green on the INSIDE as well as the OUTSIDE to receive the maximum health benefits. So, see the cucumber, green apple, green pear and endive in the photo above? It's actually a misnomer. Why? When you cut into a cucumber, what color is it? White! Don't get me wrong, white fruits and veggies carry their own benefits, but we're trying to concentrate on the green theme with this blog.

So, here is a top 10 list of my favorite green foods and a challenge from me to you and to me.
I'm going to see how many of these green foods I can fit into my diet today. So far, I'm 0/0. But, the day isn't over! How about you? How are you doing with fitting in your green foods?

1. Greens of all types: spinach, lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, bok choy, mustard greens and the like.

2. Edamame (soy beans)

3, Kiwi

4. Green Cabbage (I love all types of cabbage, actually)

5. Broccoli

6. Avocado

7. Asparagus

8. Artichokes

9. Brussel Sprouts

10. Herbs of all kinds including parsley, rosemary, sage and mint.

11. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream--just checking to see that you were paying attention!


Let me know how you do getting in your "greens"! Others to remember include green bell peppers, green beans and green tea, just to name a few.

Call me what you will about being a St. Patty's day non believer--but check back with me around April 1st.....that will be another story.

I'm in Love Again! First Name Brussel, Second Name Sprouts

The brussel sprout, a member of the cruciferous vegetable family (you know, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) has finally made it onto the scene with avengence. Look at recipe websites, menus of top tier restaurants, grocery stores that now carry the entire stalk of sprouts all way to microwavable, ready made bags of the goodies. I remember brussel sprouts in the freezer growing up-only for my Dad-as he was the only one who like them. They made an appearance every once in a while, but not as often as Dad would have liked.

A month ago, I bought a bag of frozen brussel sprouts in honor of expanding my cooking horizons and in honor of dear old Dad. That bag is still sitting in the freezer. Yesterday, I bought one of the microwavable, ready made bags at the grocery store. That bag is now gone. Instead of microwaving it, I heated about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a non stick pan, cut the bottom of the sprout off, cut it half and sauteed them for about 10 minutes. Seasoned with salt and pepper. I have to say they were the most delicious things I've had in a while. They caramelized well and looked beautiful on the plate next to roasted chicken and a baked sweet potato. So delicious! I was even able to get my husband to try one! (Try moving a mountain!). It's an on going effort to find veggies he enjoys. The fact that he tasted it is big news.

I'm ready now to tackle the bag of frozen sprouts to see how they hold up during the same cooking process. Obviously, they are less expensive than the microwavable ready made ones, so if they work just as well, I'll be using them until it's sprout season.

I can't encourage you enough to put these little nuggets of nutritional goodness on your grocery list and just give them a try. You'll be shocked at how tasty they are and you'll wonder what took you so long to prepare them at home!

Tell me, what other ways do you prepare brussel sprouts?