One Reason Not to Go Raw

I just had an ah-ha moment. Did you know that some greens actually provide more of a certain vitamin or mineral AFTER they are cooked? Chard is one of those and so are spinach and kale. I got this data below by going to Self Nutrition Data and comparing cooked kale's nutrients to raw kale's.

Click on the images for a closer look. Are you surprised? It looks like if you're wanting more vitamin C, go for the raw kale, but if you're looking for an even more gargantuan amount of vitamin A, go for the cooked version.

What really caught my eye was the "Inflammatory Factor" numbers. Kale is already a highly anti-inflammatory green, but look at how that factor almost doubles when cooked. I had no idea! The lesson we learn, as always? Eat more kale. Eat more greens!

Just in case you're wondering why this information matters, stress causes inflammation and a whole lot of the foods we eat cause inflammation. People who deal with chronic or acute pain issues would do themselves good to eat more foods that are anti-inflammatory. I am always looking for ways to decrease the inflammation in my joints, so discovering this little secret about kale is huge. This morning, before I even made this discovery, I had some scrambled eggs cooked with garlic, bell pepper, and kale. Guess I'll be keeping that up and creating all kinds of new concoctions with cooked kale.

Go to Self Nutrition Data and type in chard and spinach (or any other food) to check out their nutrition facts and inflammatory factor.

(Out of curiosity I just looked up dandelion greens too. Same pattern of the nutrients skyrocketing when cooked. I'm going to have to look into this some more. Any insights? What is it that increases the anti-inflammatory property in greens when they are cooked? Time for me to do some research.)

Blueberry Banana Smoothie w/ Lime

Plus some other ingredients that didn't fit in the title. Like an orange. Some spinach. And some flax seed. Here're the basic proportions I blended up for breakfast this morning. I'm loving the kick of lime!

1 cup water
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 orange, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
1/4 large banana, frozen
3 handfuls spinach, frozen
1 tablespoon (give or take) fresh lime juice
1 scoop Lepterra chocolate protein powder
8 ice cubes (which I added after I'd blended all the other ingredients—I just kept adding ice cubes till the consistency was how I like it.)

What do you put in a green smoothie?

One of the main questions a lot of friends ask me is, "What do you eat if you don't eat dairy, gluten, meat, or processed foods?" A typical breakfast always includes a green smoothie, and then I'll maybe eat some sprouted Ezekiel bread with coconut oil & honey or almond butter & fresh raspberries on top. Or I'll sauté some garlic, veggies, spinach, etc., in coconut oil and then add a couple eggs. Then friends usually want to know what I put in all those green smoothies. To be honest I don't usually go by recipes, I just follow my heart and throw in whatever I'm in the mood for or whatever happens to be in my freezer or fridge.

Here's what I'm drinking this morning. Today I was in the mood for orange and yellow fruits. These measurements are approximations, so feel free to add more or less of any of these ingredients. The most important thing when creating your own smoothies is to balance the liquids with the frozens to keep your blender working.

(Makes 3–4 cups)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 orange, peeled and quartered
3 handfuls fresh spinach, frozen
1 cup sliced peaches, frozen
3 cubes of fresh pineapple, frozen
1 cup fresh sliced mango, frozen
1/4 large banana, frozen

As you can tell I like to freeze the fruit and greens that I buy. That way I can buy fruit in bulk and in the season (e.g., a case of fresh raspberries from a local roadside stand), freeze most of it, and then enjoy it for months at a time. Summer months are especially great for buying fresh fruit, so most of my freezer is stocked with fresh peaches, pears, asian pears, and raspberries, as well as fresh papaya, mango, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and black berries. I usually buy my greens on a weekly basis, so I like to freeze them too so that they aren't wilted and yellow by the end of the week. I buy spinach and a variety of kales, chards. It's always fun to experiment with a new green to mix it up a bit and find your favorites. Typically my favorites are the most mild-tasting ones and the less chunky ones!

Green smoothies are the best way I've found to get the daily energy I need from all-natural, out-of-the-ground means. You'll be amazed at how much better you'll feel after adding a green smoothie to your day, and there are always ways to get creative and add new and interesting ingredients to the mix*. Have fun drinking green!

*Some other ingredients I'll often add to my smoothies are chia seeds, coconut oil, and protein powder, specifically a sugar-free powder that is made from plant protein (usually brown rice and pea protein), not whey or soy proteins, for the best health benefits. For my body I've found that Lepterra protein powder is the best, but I'm sure there are other great ones out there. I was using a Nikken's Kenzen Body Balance for a while—it tasted great, but when I took it to my homeopathic doctor Barbara, her computer showed that it just wasn't working for my body. She looked over the ingredient list, which looked great at first, but then she noticed that the powder didn't contain any digestive enzymes. Apparently those are important! So even though I'm not an expert, this at least has been my experience with protein powders.

Spinach and Edamame Soup

When it comes to recipes and easy gourmet dishes, the Dinner at Your Door authors—Alex, Andy, and Diana—know what's up. One of my all-time faves is their Spinach and Edamame Soup. Since making it over the last couple months, I've altered it slightly to meet my new vegan diet (e.g., opting for vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and replacing butter with coconut oil), but I actually can't hardly tell a difference in flavor! To read more about these three amazing women and their book Dinner at Your Door: Tips and Recipes for Starting a Neighborhood Cooking Co-op, click here.

Spinach and Edamame Soup
(serves 6)

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 organic carrots
6 cups vegetable broth
20 ounces fresh spinach, large stems removed
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/2 cup flour
12 ounces shelled, frozen edamame, thawed
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Throw onion in turbo blender or food processor, and chop. Then saute onion until translucent. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.

2. Throw carrots in turbo blender or food processor long enough to chop. (You'll end up pureeing the carrots later, so not worries about the carrots' chopped appearance are at this point.) Then add carrots and broth to pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until carrots are tender.

3. Add spinach to broth and cook until spinach is just wilted. Remove soup from heat to cool. Pour soup into turbo blender in several batches and blend. I usually have a pitcher on the side into which I can pour the pureed soup. Once the entire pot of soup is blended to your satisfaction, pour back into pot and set heat to medium.

4. Combine nutmeg, coconut oil, and flour in a small bowl to make a paste. If your coconut oil isn't quite room temperature, let the mixture sit in the sunlight for a few minutes to make it easier to stir. Then whisk this paste into the reheated soup and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add edamame to the soup and simmer until barely tender and still bright green. Stir in lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

I promise you will love this soup! Thanks for dinner (and lunch . . . and sometimes breakfast) Dinner at Your Door!