Things You'll Need:
- Green vegetables, such as collard greens, beet greens, Romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and others. Buy what's in season and always have a plan for what you intend to use so you don't go o
- For the easy Fruit Green smoothie, you will need 1-2 cups of grapes, lemons, 3 cups of spinach, 1 cup water, ginger and cinnamon to taste
- Blender
- Water, salt
- Kitchen knife
- Large bowl (to soak greens)
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Step 1
Look over the list of greens and pick one or two that you like - or that you can stand, if you really don't like any vegetables. Begin with baby steps to incorporate greens into your daily diet. Your diet should consist of 20-50% greens. By comparison, the typical American diet consists of fewer than 5% greens, on average!
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Step 2
Begin with a green smoothie using spinachLet's choose one green to start with and make a delicious smoothie. This recipe comes from Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, nutritionist and natural and raw foods chef. Clean three cups of raw spinach and one cup of seedless grapes (green or red, your choice). Place in blender with one cup of water, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and ginger, and the juice of one lemon. Blend, add more water to make it the consistency you like, and drink!
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Step 3
Make wraps using greensIf you'd prefer to try a raw foods treat using greens, try this technique to make raw food vegetable roll ups. Place green leaves in a bowl with water and salt. This will soften the leaves. Leave the greens with large leaves, since these will be used for the wrappers. Let the leaves soak for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. The salt water will soften the leaves nicely, making them pliable to use as a wrapper. You can use cabbage, collard greens, kale or Swiss Chard leaves.
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Step 4
For the filling, use a creamy pesto sauce, tomato sauce, or a nice natural creamy salad dressing. Cut thin strips of cucumber, carrot, other vegetables that you love for a vegan, raw foods treat. If you are not vegan or vegetarian, tuna or lean turkey also makes a great filling. Place the leaf on a cutting board with the inside facing you. Layer the ingredients on the leaf, creating a thin filling layer. Begin rolling the leaf from one short end up, tucking in the sides as you roll. To keep the leaf in a roll shape, you can cut a thin strip of carrot and tie a 'bow' around the roll.
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Step 5
Other great ways to make sure to eat healthy green vegetables every day is to eat one large salad at one meal every day. You can vary the greens to include lettuce or all kinds, spinach, and mixtures of greens. Incorporate fresh herbs, such as parsley, for more health. Steam greens such as spinach and serve as an extra side dish with your evening meal. Incorporate greens for breakfast - don't gag, it really works! - by making healthy smoothies blending greens with yummy fruits, such as pineapples. Many raw foods cookbooks and nutrtionists provide free raw foods recipes online, and with a little creativity, you can sneak healthy greens into almost any recipe. Here's to eating more green vegetables for your good health!
