As the air around us getting more and more polluted every day, the necessity of consuming green vegetables is increase. Most, if not all green vegetables contain all the daily needed amount of water-soluble or fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. Some even contain protein, calcium, and other substance more than milk, meat, or another type of food. The best thing is, all veggies have fiber, low to no fat, cholesterol-free, and a wonderful amount of antioxidants.
Of course, some veggies are more approachable than others, depend on being region availability or not. However, you should try them all to vary the taste as well as cycle all the goodness through your body. Following are our recommendations of 15 super green veggies that you can find at any local market or your back yard.
Super Green Vegetables list
1. Microgreens
Basically, microgreens are early grown vegetables that were harvested right after planting 1-2 weeks, roughly 1 to 3 inches growth. While containing various flavors and texture respectively to their species, these microgreens also have up to six times more of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals compared to their mature counterparts. Can be used in salads, soup, sandwich, bake… or anywhere your normal green can go.
2. Spinach
Well-known for having the most foliage compared to any greens, spinach also contains lots of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial phytonutrient. To name a few of spinach benefits: improve eyesight, heighten cognition and concentration, treat macular degeneration, keep liver functioning, maintain blood pressure, boost metabolism, and weight loss… The best part is, this vegetable just taste so good without hesitant (we’re looking at you Kale). Spinach can be consumed raw, in salad, juice, smoothie, or cook in the soup, pasta, lasagna, pan-fried…
3. Kale
A low-calorie vegetable that contains more iron than beef, more omega 3 than oil, and more calcium than milk, kale is the number 1 trend on any super green foods list. Just like any super green leafy, kale has a load of fiber, antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and vitamins of all sorts.
The only drawback is the bitter flavor of raw kale, which deters most people, even adults. There’s always the struggle to place that eerie dark green, but once you get past that, Kale is just as amazing. Lightly saute or steam kale leaf to reduce bitter flavor; dry or roast to make crispy kale chips and reserve all the goodness. Try our kale chicken soup recipe.
4. Artichoke
One of the top veggies for combating free radicals with antioxidants, defying aging, decreasing breast cancer, and detoxing human bodies and systems. It’s also a good source of iron, fiber, and tons of vitamins. Artichoke is widely available at most grocery stores as fresh veggies or in a pickle jar. You may also find their dehydrated form, which often used for tea and infusion. Artichoke’s heart can be steamed, boiled, baked, or stir-fried. Either way, they taste good and great for your body too.
5. Broccoli
Rather than a leaf, broccoli looks more like a flower in its raw form or a tree stalk when cutting out. Contains lots of folates, fiber, and similar, broccoli helps reduced the risk of many health issues like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, chronic disease… Unlike many leaf green broccoli doesn’t have that bitter flavor, and can be cook in a variety of dish, from soup, salad, raw appetizer… to food substitution (i.e. plant-based sushi). Even the broth from blanched broccoli tastes quite good too per se. If your kiddo is green-deterred, just use this as stuffing ingredients to get in those extra green calories.
Related recipes:
6. Arugula
Like many other green goods, arugula help to prevent diabetes, improve eyes & heart health while aiding in digestion and weight loss. Due to its strong peppery flavor, arugula often found in salad or pasta topping. You can dry or crush arugula and just use them as herb & spice atop many other dishes.
7. Edamame
A great source of protein, iron, calcium, and vitamin C, this young version of soybean can be a completed steal for your vegetarian meal or plant-based diet. Edamame is truly tasty, you can eat them alone as a snack, or with soup, salad, etc. In fact, edamame is one of the popular appetizer bowls in Japanese cuisine.
8. Watercress
One of the best all-around leafy watercress is famous for containing more iron than spinach, more folate than a banana, more C than an orange, and essentially more calcium than milk. Besides that, watercress also has cancer preventive phytonutrient, vitamin A, B6, B12, magnesium, phosphorus…and of course tons of fiber. Those lead to consuming watercress will help your body with cancer-preventing, bone supporting, healthy pregnancy, stress-reducing, cold/flu preventing…
9. Okra
Beside packing with fiber and vitamins like A, B, C, E, K, okra shines as one the sugar level controller for diabetes in many countries. In fact, in Turkey, Okra has been using it as the cure for diabetes by solely roasting its seeds. Not only that, okra deems it value in anti-stress, anti-fatigue, and boost immunity. The plus side is, okra tastes quite good when boil, steam, roast and can be used in soup, salad, BBQ, rolls, and bake.
10. Green bean
There is no dish that has both the extreme of love it or hates it like green bean casserole, the accompanying star of thanksgiving dinner. With proper prep techniques: cut, slice, blanch…green bean can add the natural sweetness to any stir fry, bake, or steam dish. On the good side, green bean is very nutritious with vitamins like A, C, B, K, and protein, folic acid and minerals. Just a note, like any bean, green bean has small quantities of lectin and phytates, which might cause mineral deficiency if consumes in large quantities. To prevent this, cook at high temperature or prolong their soaking/washing time.
11. Cucumber
This is one of the veggies that appear more in other places rather than on your plates. Due to its high level of antioxidant and water content, cucumber often used in skin care products to help with aging and hydration. It also can help reduce risks of cancer, support your brain, relieve pain, and contribute to weight loss. It’s better to eat them raw, but you can also have them pickled, stir-fried, roasted, or used as water infusion or garnishment.
12. Brussels sprouts
The tiny baby-like cabbage is just as cute as its beneficial value. Brussel sprout is full of vitamin C and K, along with folate, manganese, B6, omega 3, and other dietary minerals. It’s good for the heart, colon cancer, diabetes, and boost immunity. Like any of its cabbage family, Brussel works wonder with aiding to weight loss, and you can prepare them easily just as those. You can roast, bake, steam, or boil them whole, halve or shred.
13. Asparagus
Great green tasting asparagus is just as versatile as any spring veggies out there. These sticks can be baked, roasted, chunk in soup, salad, casserole, etc. Asparagus is packed with nutritious value, including vitamin A, C, E, and K along with fiber, folate, and chromium – which help to keep blood sugar in place. Eating more asparagus help with urination, sort of detoxing your body. It also helps to regulate the body’s blood.
14. Perilla
A very popular vegetable in Japanese cuisine and other East-South East Asia countries. Perilla leaves are known to help with topping up the immune system to fight against flu, allergies, or fever. They also help with canker sore, asthma, nausea, and other symptoms. Perilla can be eaten as an herb, like mint or basil. They can also be ferment (kimchi), serve as a wrapper, steam, saute, poach, filling, etc.
15. Grape leaves
You probably won’t be able to find grape leaves in the typical salad bar, maybe an international market or your back yard. They’re not just the leaves of tasty fruits vibes, but rather one of the accountable dark green veggies that you should intake daily. Grape leaves are full of fiber, vitamin A, C, E, K, Calcium and iron; so of course they’re naturally anti-inflammatory. Grape leaves, for centuries, have been used for treating diarrhea, canker sore, heavy menstrual flow, hepatitis, blood glucose, and stomach ache. So try these, they can be used as a wrapper, stuffed, herbal, or dried for tea infusion.
Amplify the goodness: Organic and grow-your-own vegetables
As you went through the list, you can see that all vegetables are good for both your mind and body, if they’re pesticide-free or naturally-grown. Conventional growing procedure includes lots of chemical plant food, pesticide, and other products which might interfere and reduce the veggies’ nutritious, and endanger your health as well if consumed in mass.
So it’s always a recommendation to obtain fresh organically grown veggies from trust sources to preserve as much nutrition as you can. Or if you have the time and resource, grown your own little batch of herb or easy vegetables in your back yard. At that, make sure to choose and use only organic or natural plant food as well as a pesticide to make the final result worth it.
Preserving nutrition: how to healthy cook green vegetable
There are many ways to cook or serve your greens and make them tasty, but using a healthy cooking method is of most importance to preserve all the valuable nutrients.
For one, most of the leaf-greens and herb should be consumed raw, in a salad with some source of healthy dressing. Too bore? Getting them fermented by pickling, making kimchi, canning… to vary the taste.
Prolong cooking will definitely lose some of the important vitamins within the green vegetables. That was why, for any veggies that required cooking, steaming is the preferred choice. Roasting and stir-frying works as well, but watch out and use only good high heat oil.
Check out our recipes:
Boiling green vegetables often lose a substantial amount of nutrition, but would work too if you’re consuming the broth as well.
what are good vegetables that would benefit kidney?
It’s depend on what you need. I would say cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, onion.. and fruits such as pineapple, apple and cranberries. These are with anti-inflammatory that will surely benefit kidney. The fruits on the other hand, might help with stones.
Thanks
Trying to learn how to cook dark green vegetables into soups. Looking for recipes and more important information on what dark greens should not be cooked together.