Greens are incredibly powerful in helping the body sustain consistent health. They provide essential nutrients to preventing (even reversing) illness such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disease, while helping to keep the body looking and feeling younger.
What do we mean by “greens?” Essentially it’s any plant-based item that’s green, as the color signals you that there is chlorophyll present. Spinach, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, parsley, mint, basil, mustard greens, arugula, spirulina, chlorella, micro-greens, and sprouts are great examples.
Think of cholorphyll as the “blood of the plant.” It is incredibly similar to the molecular and cellular make up of human blood. In fact, there’s only one minor difference: the iron and the magnesium. This explains why foods that are naturally green are so amazingly good for us. So, the darker the green, the more concentrated the chlorophyll, arguably making the item even healthier for you.
What if you don’t like eating salads? How are you supposed to get your fill of chlorophyll and all the wonderful nutrients from the greens?
Here are 8 sneaky ways to get your greens without ever touching a salad.
1. Smoothies
Smoothies are one of the best ways to get all of the benefits from greens because a high powered blender will break open the cellular walls of the greens, making the nutrients easier for your body to utilize. And, if you’re not a huge fan of the flavor of greens, smoothies help as they’ll be blended in with citrus, nut milks, and/or fruit.
2. Juicing
Juice your greens along with some lemon, apple, carrots, or other produce to make them super tasty, and offset the bitterness. Juicing is an incredibly easy way for the body to take in nutrients because all of the fiber has been removed from the produce, reducing the amount of work the digestive tract has to do. It also makes it easier for you to consume larger quantities of the greens in juice form than you would if you were eating a salad.
3. Liquid Chlorophyll
Add liquid chlorophyll to your water, juice, smoothie, or simply toss back a shot of it. You can buy liquid chlorophyll online or at health foods stores.
4. Sauces, Dressings, & Dips
Tomato sauce, pesto dip, spicy Thai peanut sauce, mango salsa… name the sauce, dip, dressing, or dish accompaniment and I bet you could pack more nutrition into it by blending in some spinach, kale, fresh herbs, or chlorella powder.
5. Baked goods
Sprinkle in some spirulina or chlorella into your pancake, muffin, or bread batter before baking. Though your baked good will take on an odd green color, it will be even more nutritious!
6. Micro-greens & Sprouts
Micro-greens and sprouts are incredibly powerful because they hold all the nutrients and energy from the plant in a tiny little package. So you’ll get more for less! Sprinkle sprouts on dishes, into your sandwiches, or in with fruit. You don’t need many to get lots of nutritional punch when it comes to sprouts. They come in a variety of different plants like radish, sunflower, broccoli, and kale. Test them out and find your favorites.
7. Nutbutters
Mix in some powdered spirulina or chlorella into your peanutbutter, cashew butter, or almond butter to make a powerful and tasty superfood you can eat with apples, carrots, or with some jelly!
8. Sweetener
Stevia leaf is one of the most alkalizing foods available and it’s a wonderful sweetener when used in it’s natural leaf form. Grab a plant from your local nursery or grow your own from seeds. Then you can pop a couple leaves into your tea or smoothie, or dry some leaves and use them in baked goods. It sweet without all the negative challenges sugars and sweeteners usually present.
So there you go! Eight pretty simple ways to get more green into your diet and pack your body with illness fighting nutrition – all without eating one stinkin’ salad.
For more amazing ideas on how to get great nutrition… sign up for our newsletter, come to one of our events, or work with one of our Certified Holistic Nutritionists!
