Have you been craving spring greens and salads lately? So am I! My yearning isn’t just for a regular garden salad either—I’m craving something special—spring greens, the celebrity stars of Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables.
This yearning for fresh spring greens is a sure sign of spring. Spring lettuces, and greens like spinach are among the first garden spring produce that are so refreshing to eat after the heavier cold weather foods and they are star performers when it comes to Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables. Yes, the scrumptious taste of spring greens is especially appealing just now.
Selecting Greens and Lettuces
Just how do you select the most nutrient dense varieties of lettuces and greens and store them so they’ll taste fresh longer? Let’s take a look at watercress as an example. Watercress has the highest nutrient density of any of the Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables with a nutrient dense score of 100 on the basis of 17 health promoting nutrients like potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, zinc, and a host of other vitamins. Other high scoring greens in rank order are:
- Chard
- Beet greens
- Spinach
- Collard greens
- Turnip greens
- Kale
- Dandelion greens
- Arugula
The most tender of these greens are ready earlier in local gardens but most local groceries carry these greens year-round.
Now that you know which greens and lettuces are most nutrient dense, how can you select those that are freshest and store them once you get home? Look for crispness and bright color avoiding those with brown or yellow spots.
Storing Greens to Keep them Fresh
Prepare and store tender greens and lettuces so you’ll eat them while they’re fresh instead of letting them go bad in the bottom of the refrigerator. One of my friends, Rebecca, prepares her produce right after she gets home from the grocery store. What a great practice, right?
Here is a good way to prepare lettuce so you can keep it up to a week. Pull off leaves, rinse them well and soak for 10 minutes with cold water. Dry them completely with a towel or lettuce spinner. Refrigerate them in resealable plastic bags pricked with a pin or needle to promote ideal humidity. If you plan to eat lettuce within a day or two, tear up the lettuce before you store it to double the antioxidant potential, according to Jo Robinson, author of Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health.
I’ve loved picking and using wild watercress in salads for years and it’s almost always available in groceries. This top celebrity of Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables has a spicy flavor and adds a peppery zest which sprinkled into a salad with other lettuces. Here’s my favorite recipe for watercress.
Kay’s Organic Mandarin Orange and Watercress Salad
4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch watercress
- 4 organic Mandarin oranges peeled, sliced, and seeded
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white Balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon organic mustard
- Add pepper to taste
Directions:
- Wash and dry watercress.
- Peel and slice oranges.
- Arrange on 4 separate small plates.
- Make salad dressing from olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and pepper.
- Add salad dress just before serving.
What is your favorite spring green?
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Sources:
How to select and store lettuces:
https://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/leaf-lettuce
Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetable:
https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/13_0390.htm
J. Robinson, Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health, Little, Brown, and Company, New York, 2013, p. 30.
Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
International Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian