How to get greens in the diet?

artsy

Tue, May 26 2020, 5:27 pm

What do people do?
Seems like very expensive to always buy the specially grown ones?
And don't feel that my blender (for people who say blended it is ok) is not really strong enough to liquify the greens enough.
Feel like there are so many things I can't eat because of possible bug issues.
For those especially that are vegan-plant based is this not frustrating??
What can we use?

zaq

Tue, May 26 2020, 5:36 pm

A strong light like a sunny window and either young eyes or strong reading glasses. A jeweler's loupe is not required. If it's not visible to the unaided young eye with good vision, it's not an issue. But AYLOR.

disneyland

Tue, May 26 2020, 5:38 pm

I know the pre-packaged bug free ones can be expensive. But they go a long way. I bought the cilantro and used it for a dip, for soup, and I think I could also use it for fish.
There are some greens that I make like green beans sauteed with garlic and teriyaki sauce. That being said I do check romaine lettuce.I hold each one up to the light, one at a time and then after I look at the lettuce I wash each one individually so I can be sure there are no bugs. It doesn't take as long as it sounds it does

Amarante

Tue, May 26 2020, 5:40 pm

By "greens" do you mean tossed green salad kind of vegetable?

Because while a tossed green salad is a nice counterpart for many entrees, it is not particularly nutritious as compared to other vegetables. You can get all the nutritional stuff including water based fiber from many kinds of vegetables besides a "green salad".

FranticFrummie

Tue, May 26 2020, 5:47 pm

Dark skinned zucchini is a really good one, and so is frozen spinach. Fresh swiss chard and beet greens are super easy to check because the leaves are large and flat (you just have to find them in season.)

I love putting frozen spinach in a quiche with swiss cheese and black olives. Baked or stir fried zucchini is an easy side dish. Swiss chard leaves can be quickly steamed whole, and then you could make a mushroom and rice stuffing. Roll it up in the leaves like you would with grape leaves (chop up the white stems and add them to the stuffing.)

Potato soup with cheddar cheese and chopped bits of broccoli is delicious. You don't need a lot of broccoli. If you chop it fine and soak it in salt water, any bugs will come right to the surface. (I've never found a bug in broccoli. The kind of bugs that like broccoli are usually caterpillars, and they're easy to see.)

zaftigmom

Tue, May 26 2020, 8:01 pm

Another vote for frozen spinach. I saute onions and garlic, add the spinach, salt and pepper. Use in omelets, pasta or just eat with a spoon and some cottage cheese.

Amarante

Tue, May 26 2020, 8:55 pm

Squishy wrote:

I haven't had good luck with frozen spinach. It is gritty too often and minced.

It’s not good on its own but it simplifies prepping when used with mushrooms and onions and stuffed in chicken breasts or mushroom caps.

Grateful2bhere

Tue, May 26 2020, 9:04 pm

I've surrendered to not eating them as often as I'd like because im not invested enough in learning how to really understand what's involved in checking, & then the checking itself.
I eat a lot of green vegetables, frozen green beans, zucchini dishes, I have a hand crank Zoodle maker.
But Zero judgement to those who do eat them & know what they're doing! Greens are kosher, one just needs to learn to know what they're doing & hv patience.

For greens that are leafy, I buy the expensive hechsure baby kale leaves once in a while, use a little for salad, & then freeze most of them for smoothies, thereby it lasts much longer vs just a few days fresh.

(For the smoothie, a typical combo might be something like: around 1/4-1/3 cup Frozen blueberries, strawberries, maybe 1/2 frozen banana, around 1/2 cup Almond milk, some cocoa powder & some stevia, can add a little extra "super foods" like flax meal or hemp seeds, small piece of raw ginger. And a hand full of the frozen kale 🙂)
.

artsy

Tue, May 26 2020, 11:02 pm

Thank you .This has been super helpful.
I am op.
Yes, by greens I guess I am thinking spinach, kale, romaine, scallions, parsley, dill, scallions
And then there are other things like brocollli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussel sprouts...
Just seems like so many things off limits if you don't know what you are doing or spend a lot of money.
Am not familiar with swiss chard or beet greens.
Are those listed in bug checking guides and are there more lenient standards of washing/checking? Never heard of using those.

artsy

Tue, May 26 2020, 11:17 pm

Also forgot to mention that I feel like with the frozen spinach cubes I don't know exactly what quality I am getting vs. bigger suppliers that have competition.

Rappel

Tue, May 26 2020, 11:38 pm

In Israel, we can buy "bug free" at a fairly decent price.

Otherwise, it's soak-wash-check. We eat lots of greens. The fancy packaged ones are just time savers