You Need These 7 Leafy Greens In Your Daily Diet
You should add these nutritious leafy greens to your dishes if you want to eat healthily. They’re satiating, full of health benefits, and incredibly tasty.
Choosing a healthy lifestyle comes down to a balanced diet, not just hitting the gym every day. And every healthy and balanced diet must contain leafy greens. They can have a much more beneficial effect on your health than you would ever think.
A diet that is filled with leafy greens will come with great health benefits. Here you can include a reduced risk of heart diseases, obesity, and even high blood pressure.
You can include in the list of benefits other things like glowing skin, a boost in your digestive enzymes, and they are even good for reducing belly bloating.
You don’t need any more reasons why to eat these vegetables. The only thing you need is a list of the best leafy greens that will provide you and your body with all these benefits.
7 Leafy Greens You Need To Include In Your Diet
Not everyone is a fan of this kind of vegetables but you can have fun in the kitchen with them.
You can consume some of them raw, use them in smoothies, or make a variety of salads and other dishes out of them. You can even enjoy the benefits of the leafy greens in powder form.
Here are the best leafy greens you need in your life and in your plate:
1. Spinach
I’m sure you heard of this one being one of the most popular leafy vegetables.
You can incorporate this food easily in lots of dishes. Add spinach to your smoothies, use them to make soup, sauces, and even salads.
Just one cup of raw spinach (about 30 grams) is full of vitamin K, vitamin A, and magnesium.
Next time when you are making your smoothie, put a cup of spinach in it to make it even healthier.
2. Kale
This is one of the best nutrient-packed vegetables on the whole planet because it contains minerals, lots of vitamins, and antioxidants.
One cup of raw kale will pack you up with vitamins A, C, and D. Kale also contains antioxidants that will reduce the risk of diseases like cold or inflammation.
To get all the nutrients that kale is offering to your body, you will have to consume it raw. When cooked, this vegetable will lose some of its nutrients.
3. Cabbage
This vegetable can be found in purple, white, and greens colors belonging to the Brassica family of vegetables. In this family, you can include Brussels sprouts, kale, and broccoli.
Usually, the vegetables in this plant family contain glucosinolates that will give a bitter flavor to the plants.
Foods that contain glucosinolates may even have a cancer-protective feature, mainly against esophageal and lung cancer.
But cabbage has another great benefit, it can be turned into sauerkraut.
Eating sauerkraut is good for your digestion and it will even support your immune system while also being good for weight loss.
4. Romaine Lettuce
With a crunchy texture, this kind of leafy green is most commonly found in Cesar salads.
Get a great dose of vitamin A and K by consuming just one cup of this salad (about 48 grams).
You can get creative and make different types of salads and side dishes with Romaine lettuce.
5. Rocket
Rocket leaves, roquettes, or arugula, are one and the same type of leafy greens. With small leaves and a bit tasting like pepper, they are perfect for salads and garnishes.
Much like the other leafy greens, arugula is filled with vitamin A, K, and vitamin B9.
Put these bitter leafy greens in your food because they also contain dietary nitrates that are great for increasing blood flow. They can also reduce your blood pressure by widening the blood vessels.
6. Swiss Chard
You can find these kinds of leafy greens in most Mediterranean dishes. Swiss chard belongs to the same family as beets and spinach.
It tastes a bit earthy and it is filled with minerals, potassium, vitamins, and magnesium.
Something unique that you can find in swiss chard is flavonoids called syringic acid. This is a compound that can help you lower your blood sugar levels.
People usually throw away the stems of the salad. Make sure you don’t do the same. Use all of the swiss chard next time you cook and add them in soups or even tacos.
7. Beet Greens
Beets have a great nutrient profile and are used in a variety of dishes, but not the same can be said about their leaves.
People don’t use the beets leaves for cooking. Don’t do this mistake because the beet leaves are also very healthy.
Since beet leaves are full of potassium, vitamins A and K, fiber, calcium, and riboflavin, make sure that you will eat them next time. You can add them in salads, or sauteed and eaten as a side dish, or even put them in soups.
Eat Leafy Greens With Every Meal!
These are just a few of the most nutritious leafy greens out there. If you wanna eat healthier, you need these leafy greens on your plate with every meal.
No need for complicated recipes, because they can be eaten raw and you can get an instant health boost.
Make a breakfast omelet and add some spinach to it. Use some romaine lettuce as wraps and make some lunch. Put some arugula in your usual salads and it will make it healthier.