Green Vegetables (Updated)

Iron, we need it, and it is essential to our diet, and luckily we could get the iron from leafy vegetables.  Planting or buying green leafy vegetables is not hard.

Leafy vegetables are the primary source of iron and calcium,  for any food, however, spinach and Swiss chard are not considered good sources of calcium, due to their high content of oxalic acid. Green leafy vegetables are rich in beta-carotene, which can also be converted into vitamin A, and even improve immune function.  Millions of children around the world have an increased risk of blindness, and other illnesses because of inadequate dietary vitamin A from green leafy vegetables. (from my reading regarding green vegetables).

Kale, green leaf

A lot of children are not very keen to have them on their diet.  They often say I don't like greens but why you always give me the green, especially Brussels sprout.  So many tricks to make them love and to enjoy eating greens.

We ought to be creative as adults, in cooking to make the greens to be very delicious and eating friendly.  For example, by adding to a pasta dish, and by mixing other ingredients such as egg and cheese to make a pie, maybe more inviting to them.  With Brussel sprout, I would boil first, and fried in butter or roasted and served with other vegetables.  Encourage the children to have vegetables soup, and this is a lovely soup, merely mashed green broccoli mixed with mashed potato, it looks creamy light green but very tasty and could be prettier garnished with chopped boiled eggs and so on.

I had, and I have no problems cooking greens for my family, we love them all, but when the children were small I cooked the one that they liked, such as green peas, spinach and green beans.  Nowadays we have new greens on the market, kale, mustard greens, Bok Choy and a lot more, these vegetables are very nutritious.  It's ashamed if the children missing out from.  My grandchildren love green kale as their mother is very keen on giving good food, she makes kale chips, by baking the leaves in the oven, to make crisps,  fancy that.  It is priceless though to keep the children happy and healthy, we love them dearly.

Growing greens in the backyard are useful, they are easy to care for.  I have Kale, Warrigal green (potted) and Silverbeet, which is almost finished now.  Green bean is another green to have in our garden, I hope it is not too late to put them in, I got some seedling ready.

In the Backyard.

Kale is growing closer to the rose bush.

Kale

Potted Warrigal Green (SPINACH)

In the market is the right place to get the greens, asparagus is in season, broccoli is there too.  I bought these greens to have it for a salad.  Today, I reminisce this delicious dish cooked and served for BBQ party by friends who lived in Balwyn Melbourne at the time.   It went with the meat entirely and so yum,  boiled greens salad it was.  It made out of cooked broccoli, green peas, green beans dressed with mayonnaise.  Today I prepared the salad and served with yoghurt dressing, add a little mustard and mayo.  It is different but similar, and It's a joy to be thinking of our kind friends who I have not seen them since.

Mixed Fresh Greens

Susy Cooked Green Salad
Ingredients: Boiled broccoli, Green Beans, Peas, Asparagus and young Kale leaves.
The dressing: Yogurt, a little of Dejon mustard, and mayonnaise or aioli for extra flavour and creaminess.
(I let you judge yourself, the quantities of the dressing)  Make enough for one serve.  The dressing should be consumed once on the same day.
Dress the salad before serving.

Boiled Mixed Greens

The Cooked Greem Salad, Lightly Dressed

Cooked Green Salad with Generous Dressing

The salad is excellent served with BBQ meat, cold chicken and meat fried in batter.

Last week I got the privilege to cook the fresh Warrigal green of the garden, it was good to have vegetable from our backyard, which was at its best. The freshly picked warrigal was almost a basket full.  Sauteed the greens and served with steamed white rice and other garnishes.  Lazy cooking that day, the additional garnish was smoked salmon steak bought of the supermarket.

Sautee fresh green in vegetable oil

After two minutes of sauteeing, the green is cooked

Served with steamed white rice mixed with herbs.

This post is all about greens, how good the vegetables are for our need.  Also, idea how to prepare them, as a mixed salad, or sautee them together in the oil, or sautee a green vegetable only instead of mixed green.
It is a challenge to keep our children to liking greens, but we never give up, we have to be persistent and ready to provide them with the greens daily.  Soon they will be custom to them, even they would have missed them if they are not there.

Beautiful weather today, it's warm and sunny but not too hot, no strong wind, so calm.  Sweet Springtime Indeed.

During a warm - hot day and not wanting to cook too much, a salad could be the answer.  


Updated
Today the 23 November, extra greens for us, the fresh harvest from Anne's vegetable garden.  Thank you, Anne and Max, for the young broad beans.  I hope I could do justice to cook them properly.

Fresh Broad Beans
From Anne's Vegetable Garden.

Dinner is Served.  Beautiful Broad Beans with the Dressing.

Boiled Broad Beans
With yoghurt sprinkled with Hungarian paprika

Broad bean is another green vegetable that quickly plants in the backyard garden.  The young broad beans are sweet and soft.  Harvested old broad beans are best, clean twice, one of the pods and follow the membrane, and you will get gorgeous green broad beans. 


Until Next Post
Susy