A Plant Based Eater's Best Friend

A pesto rigatoni pasta garnished with cilantro. It is a vegan pesto with almonds, cilantro, sage, and salt.

Spoiler Alert! It’s greens.

Also, Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or nutritionist, I just love to read, research, eat good food, and share what I learn with others. I would suggest taking a look at some of the references I link for more information.

Green Leafy Vegetables and Crucifers are HUGE staples for a healthy balanced Plant-based diet. You may have heard of individuals deciding to switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet, then having health problems and going back to eating meat. This is can occur because it is easy to go vegetarian or vegan and still be eating filler foods that are processed and lack the nutritional value needed to keep the body running. Many of our foods, even the veggies and fruit that we consume, have a fraction of the nutrients they had before genetic modification or processing. Jo Robinson’s book, Eating on the Wild Side, is a substantive, easy-to-read book on the subject. She has a conversational tone, an interesting storytelling style that is easy to read, and lots of valuable information about selecting and storing the most nutritionally beneficial vegetables and fruits to consume. Use the link at the bottom of this post to order it.

Revisiting the main topic, greens are a way to get a large number of antioxidants, minerals, phytonutrients, and vitamins even consuming them in small amounts. Many are considered superfoods. Pick a variety, try them out and see what you like and don’t like. I would highly suggest for everyone to have a serving of these greens a day, but it is especially beneficial to plant-based, vegetarian, and vegan eaters.

Why Greens?

Brief History of Greens and Crucifers

The wild greens that hunter-gatherers consumed were so rich in phytonutrients that they used them for medicine as well as food.
Jo Robinson, Eating on the Wild Side

Greens are typically leaf vegetables. They include familiar things like spinach, arugula, and romaine lettuce, and less familiar things like radicchio, blackjack, cimarron, dandelion leaves and more. The most nutritious of these varieties are loose leafed and dark red or purple in color, but dark green leaves are beneficial as well.

As Jo’s quote mentioned, greens in the past were so potent that they could be used as medicine and food. They could be applied topically to help heal injuries, and consumed to ward off sickness. Today, we have some powerful greens left, but we also have the nutritionally-lacking iceberg lettuce and many that fall in between in the arena of mediocrity. We have to be careful to select the best greens for the most nutritional benefit, and there are many signs that tell us whether a green has a high nutritional value. Red, Reddish-brown, and purple leaves have the highest nutritional value amongst the greens. After that comes the dark leafy greens. Jo states that the more vibrantly colored the leaves the more nutrient dense. Greens (and crucifers) tend to be bitter-tasting due to all the phytonutrients they contain. This is why a lot of people avoid them. However, those phytonutrients are vital to your health, and should be consumed regularly. If you have trouble finding diverse and nutrient dense greens near you, or would prefer an easier way to consume your greens, HealthForce has an excellent green blend packed with minerals, phytonutrients, and vitamins. (Use the link at the end of the post to purchase.)

Crucifers are plants that have flowers that grow in the formation of a cross(hence the name Crucifer). They include a wide variety of different veggies, like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, turnips, and wasabi. These are not “greens” as we know it so it may seem off topic, but I included this category here because Crucifers also include leafy veggies like Kale, Mustard Greens, bok choy, and collard greens.

Crucifers have not been modified too much since historical times. They still have their mostly bitter flavor, hence their overwhelming nutritional value. It would be difficult to get this amount of nutrients to fit into your day through eating other foods. Greens and crucifers make it easier to get most of the nutrients you need in a day, and some additional nutrients that can boost immune health. With crucifers, it is vital to pick and store them properly to maintain as much nutritional value as possible. Be sure to pick produce with vibrant color and crispness to get the most nutrients.

Health Benefits

As I mentioned before, many greens and crucifers are considered superfoods, foods nutrient dense and considered extremely beneficial for the body’s overall health and wellbeing. Many of these contain unique combinations of vitamins and minerals that aid the body in different ways. For example, many of these greens (and crucifers) contain a substantial amount of vitamin K, and other Vitamins like A. Some of these greens contain Vitamin B9, E, and C, and all of them contain a boatload of antioxidants and minerals that aid everything from brain and heart health to thyroid function and digestion.

A quick salad of Red Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Sweet Peppers (different colors), Cilantro, Green Onion, and Lemon Juice. I tossed this salad with vegan Annie’s Organic Goddess Dressing.

My Favorite Recipes (with many more to come)

Follow my instagram! Every Friday, I post a series called “Green Fridays” chronicling the different ways I consume greens on a regular basis. Many of these ingredients I don’t measure out, but I will give you estimated amounts that I use. In most cases for these, if you are lacking a couple ingredients, it won’t break the dish. Use what you have, to taste.

Juice

Clean all your fruits and veggies in water, or a saline solution. (Salt and water). Begin preparing your produce for juicing by chopping off some unwanted or excess parts and cutting down to a size to fit in the juicer mouth. (Mine is particularly small. I normally chop of the head and tail of the celery, core and cut down the apples, peel the lemon (although if you want you don’t have to, it has lots of nutritional benefits, it just can be a little bitter). After all of these preparations, your juice materials are ready. Follow juicer instructions to get your juice.

This yields 2-3 servings (depending how much you intend to drink), I can normally fill my 32 ounce Mason Jar.

Celery (Around 4-5 Stalks)

Green Apple (At least 2)

Orange(one)

Lemon(one)

Spinach(a handful and a half)

Sage(2-3 leaves)

Oregano(I use fresh greek oregano, a small sprig)

Kale(5-6 leaves)

Collard Greens(2-3 leaves)

Video Coming Soon

Smoothie

Add banana, spring mix (or green blend), plant protein, chia, rosemary, and oregano to the blender. I usually add the non-frozen’s first, for easier blending. If I add and orange I add that in as well. Finally, I add frozen mango, and water. Then I blend until smooth.

This has a refreshing sweet flavor that is fragrant and all natural. Normally, I can fill a 12 oz cup one full time and about half.

Banana (one, peeled fresh or frozen)

Frozen Mango(around 8-10 chunks)

Handful of Spring Green Mix or Vitamineral green blend

Plant Protein(follow the container instructions)

Chia Seeds(tablespoon, dry or wet)

Rosemary(one sprig)

Oregano(one small sprig, or a teaspoon dry)

Water (about 12 oz)

(If I drink this in the morning I add an orange)

Video Coming Soon

Salad

Toss the Spinach or baby green mix into a medium/large bowl. Chop sweet potato into bite size chunks and add to the salad bowl along with pistachios. Add a handful of blueberries. Slice the strawberries and add them to the bowl.

For additional texture chop cabbage and add to bowl. For a more filling salad, add a source of healthy protein. I like to add cooked and drained black beans.

In a small separate bowl, mix hummus, lemon juice and Tamari until smooth. For a kick add some Cayenne pepper to taste. Drizzle this onto your salad and mix.

This dish has a sweet and savory flavor that is pleasant and satisfying. Delicious for lunch or dinner. Serves 1-2 people.

Spinach, or Baby green mix(2-3 handfuls)

Baked Sweet Potato(1-2 small ones chopped)

Fresh Blueberries(a handful)

Fresh Strawberry(4-5 Chopped)

Pistachios( a handful shelled)

Hummus (a spoonful)

Lemon Juice (a spoonful)

Tamari or Soy Sauce (half a spoonful)

An additional source of protein like black beans.

For more crunch chop up some raw red or white cabbage to add in the mix

Video Coming Soon

Stir-fry

Wash all your vegetables in a saline solution. Chop the broccoli, cabbage, tofu, tomatoes and onion chives. Mince the garlic and add coconut oil to your pan (I use a wok) and let warm on medium heat, until sizzling, then add tofu and onion chives. Add turmeric, sage, coriander nutritional yeast, and tamari, and toss with the tofu. When the tofu begins to color and cook, add broccoli and bell pepper and cabbage, and let cook until the vegetables are slightly tender. Add in the Kale or Spinach and let cook down slightly. Finally, add tomatoes and turn off heat.

(Serve with a side of rice or scoop onto some tortilla chips)

This is a savory, satiating dish that you can eat for breakfast lunch or dinner. Serves 1-2 people.

Broccoli (1-2 heads)

Cabbage (half a head)

Kale (5-6 leaves ) or handful of spinach

Rainbow Bell Peppers (half red, yellow, and orange)

Tomatoes(a whole beefsteak tomato, or a handful or more of grape tomatoes)

Organic Tofu non GMO, (preferably sprouted)

Lemon Juice (a tablespoon or to taste)

Lime Juice (a teaspoon or to taste)

Coriander (to taste approx. teaspoon)

Cayenne (to taste half teaspoon)

Turmeric (half table spoon. or to taste)

Garlic (four cloves)

Onion Chives (a small handful)

Sage (5-6 leaves)

Nutritional Yeast (one half tablespoon, or to taste)

Tamari/Soy Sauce/Braggs (a tablespoon or to taste)

Coconut Oil (a tablespoon and a half)

Video Coming Soon

Pasta

Wash the basil, parsley, oregano, and sage. Add these spices along with olive oil, lemon juice, cashews, and a little water to a blender and blend until smooth. Prepare the pasta or zucchini noodles and cook them to taste. I normally steam the zucchini noodles lightly with sage and toss them with with tomatoes. I add salt and nutritional yeast to the noodles, when tasteful, add the pesto sauce to the noodles. Steam the collard greens with some salt and garlic powder to taste.

Refreshing, lemony, flavorful aromatic pasta that hits the spot. Serves 2-4 servings.

Gluten free Pasta bowties (1 box)

(Or Zucchini Noodles) (2-3 zucchini)

Basil (4-5 leaves)

Parsley (2-3 sprigs)

Oregano ( 1 medium sprig)

Sage (3-4 leaves)

Olive oil (3- 4 tablespoon)

Collard Greens (a bunch)

Tomatoes (1-2 beefsteak tomatoes or 2 handfuls of grape tomatoes)

Nutritional Yeast (2 tablespoons)

Salt (to taste)