In this issue:
Winter greens galore
Contact us
Past issues online
Greens
galore
The holiday rush is on,
your mother-in-law is arriving tomorrow and you have some
last minute shopping to do. You're tempted to delete
this newsletter, but wait... we've got an important
message for you this week, one that can help you round out
your holiday menu (and the rest of your winter menus for
that matter).
One of the true culinary
delights of the winter season is fresh, organic winter
"greens" from Goodness Greeness. We use greens in
quotes, because many of the traditional greens (like chard,
kale, mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens and
salad greens) are now available in a spectrum of delightful
colors.
Before we get into the
details of the winter greens that we are featuring this
week, we have three general points that we'd like to
mention.
First, Goodness Greeness
provides a huge variety of winter greens in many different
flavors, shapes, colors and packaging. We don't have
enough space in this newsletter to introduce all of them, so
this week's message is just the start of a series of
articles on this subject.
Second, the fresh organic
greens that we supply have great nutritional value. (I
can hear my mother now - "Did you finish your spinach?").
The vitamins and minerals in these fresh greens are
particularly important in the winter months.
Third, from a culinary
point-of-view, winter greens can provide interesting variety
in your menu, offering different textures, a range of
flavors (from sweet to tangy to bitter) and an opportunity
for improving the visual appeal of your meals. (Note:
The flavor of many winter greens peaks as the nights turn
colder in the growing regions where we get our greens).
Swiss
Chard
Swiss chard is a tall
leafy vegetable with a thick, crunchy stalk and wide,
fan-like leaves. The leaves are green and the stalks
are white, yellow or red. Goodness Greeness supplies
you with a nice choice here - green chard (white stalk), red
chard (red stalk) or the beautiful Rainbow chard (a mixture
of colors).
Chard is in the same
family as beets and spinach, and it has a similar flavor -
the slightly bitter flavor of beet greens and the slightly
salty flavor of spinach. Both the leaves and stalks of
chard are edible.
But the real story about
chard though is neither it's color nor it's unique flavor -
it's the nutritional benefits that it provides.
Simply stated, chard
provides exceptional nutritional value. It gets
excellent ratings for vitamins K, A, C and E, iron,
magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber. There's much
to talk about here, but let's focus on four key nutritional
points.
1. One cup of cooked
chard provides over 300% of the daily value of vitamin K -
essential for developing and maintaining bone health.
And the magnesium it provides contributes to a healthy bone
structure.
2. Chard has a
significant amount of beta-carotene, which is converted to
vitamin A in the body. Both beta-carotene and vitamin
A have been found to combat certain cancers through the
phytochemicals that they contain.
3. Chard is a great
source of iron, which helps keep your immune system healthy
and helps produce energy.
4. With excellent
potassium and vitamin E, chard helps combat high blood
pressure and heart disease. It also has significant
anti-inflammatory effects.
Be sure to wash the chard
bunches well in cold water to remove sand hidden in the
inner leaves. Trim the end of the stalks if the ends
have dried out. Store in a plastic bag in your
refrigerator for up to a week.
Chard is easy to use.
Serve it steamed, with a touch of butter or olive oil.
Add steamed chard to lasagna, in place of or in addition to
spinach. Add steamed chard to omelets for zest.
Or chop it and add it to a pasta dish with olive oil, lemon
and garlic.
Kale
Let's be honest here -
kale may not be your favorite veggie (did I understate your
feelings?). But, consider this. Fresh organic
kale has greatly improved flavor and sweetness this time of
year, can add vibrant color to your plate and is renowned as
the anti-cancer food.
Kale is a leafy green
vegetable that belongs to the nutrient-rich brassica family,
a group of veggies that includes broccoli, cabbage,
cauliflower and collards. There are several different
varieties of kale, including curly green kale, curly red
kale and dinosaur (Lacinato) kale with a beautiful, dark
blue-green leaf and an embossed texture.
All varieties of kale
have an earthy flavor, sweeter this time of year.
Curly kale has a lively, pungent flavor, with a hint of
pepper. Lacinato kale is sweeter still, with a more
delicate flavor than curly kale.
Kale has many of the same
nutritional benefits as Swiss chard. But one benefit
stands out. Kale contains organosulfur compounds that
appear to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of
cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers. These
compounds activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver that
neutralize potential carcinogenic substances. As a
result, kale is now often used in the diets of folks
recovering from incidents of cancer.
Due to its earthy flavor,
kale is best served in a recipe with other flavors present.
For example, you can saute kale with fresh garlic and serve
with a sprinkle of lemon juice and olive oil. Or
braise chopped kale with apples, add balsamic vinegar and
serve with chopped walnuts.
Other
winter greens
We'll have more details
in coming newsletters on many other winter greens available
from Goodness Greeness.
Enjoy your holidays and
happy eating!
Contact
us
You can find
a broad selection of fresh organic winter greens, as well as a rich variety of
other organic
fruits and vegetables, from Goodness Greeness at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them.
Past
issues online
As you know if you've
been reading this weekly newsletter each week, there is a
lot of information provided on organic fruits and vegetables, their
nutritional qualities, availability, shopping and
preparation tips, as well as some recipes.
You can now access most of
the past issues of Organics for you on our web site (www.goodnessgreeness.com).
Click on the Newsletter link at the top of any page on the
site. There you'll find a quick index to most of the past
issues.
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