I love our farm share because I cook all sorts of greens I wouldn’t normally bother to buy, wash and cook. But, if I get the greens through the farm share I am determined to cook and eat them before the next farm share. It is a huge undertaking to try to eat all the greens in my share, but I also have noticed all sorts of health benefits from my enormous leafy green consumption. My skin is noticeably clearer and my face is thinner–I have been told. I have lost a few pounds, which is a nice unexpected bonus. I have energy. My peripheral neuropathy (which was from vitamin deficiencies of copper, carnitine and B12) has lessened. And I have added a bunch of healthy recipes to my blog. Although, I am going away and won’t have my farm share for the next two months, I am thinking of buying 4 heads of lettuce and 3 assorted leafy greens each week to continue eating the way I have been eating. Basically I have greens with 2 meals a day. It’s pretty time consuming, but also a fun challenge. “Crowding out” bad food with healthy food, is one strategy of trying to get healthier. It certainly seems to work–at least for me!
Cooking Swiss Chard
-Before washing chard, chop the large stems off 1 bunch of swiss chard. Wash chard well. I prefer to wash greens in a sink full of water, but you can wash them however you like.
-Remove inner hard stalk with a knife or by folding leaf in half and ripping it out.
-Chop leaves coarsely.
-Finely chop 2 cloves garlic (or use a garlic press.)
-Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a pan
-Add chopped/pressed garlic and saute until golden brown.
-Add the chopped chard and toss with the garlic and oil to coat the leaves with oil.
-Then add 2 Tablespoons of water to pan. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
-Season with salt, ground pepper and lemon to taste.
-Serve with brown rice.
I made some rice paper spring rolls with the swiss chard, rice, walnuts and shredded carrots. It was a little bit of an experiment in how to make the swiss chard portable.