Go For (More) Greens!

2 November 2018 By Latasha

Greens have been in the media recently which reminded me just how easy it can be to bulk up a recipe – for all the right reasons – like boosting its nutritional benefits!

Eat more greens

I read about a recent report finding that more than 99 per cent of children and 96 per cent of adults don’t eat the recommended intake of five serves of vegetables a day.

But I know a way you can avoid being a part of this statistic! Instead of adding more meat to one of my curries, I find leafy greens are the perfect additional ingredient. I include the likes of spinach – frozen and fresh, kale, silverbeet, chards, and Chinese greens like choy sum.

Green veggies offer a powerful dose of fibre, vitamins and minerals including antioxidants and phytochemicals. These have been shown to lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and may even help reduce the risk of cancer. The dark green leafy vegetables are particularly good sources of many vitamins (such as vitamins A, C, and K and folate) and minerals (such as iron and calcium). They also help to make sure your body absorbs all of the vitamins you eat.

In particular, spinach has extremely high nutritional value and is rich in antioxidants. A good source of vitamins A, B2, C and K, it also contains magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, calcium and potassium.

And for the home gardeners amongst you – these leafy greens are also incredibly easy to plant and grow!

Cook with greens

Just add in the greens after the onions at the beginning of cooking process. Allow these tasty vegetables to caramelise before adding any protein of choice. Leafy greens help enhance the flavours of slow cooker meals, one pot dishes and curries while also boosting the nutritional content of the dish. The end result is a thick nourishing sauce to slurp up, which is guilt free because it has been supercharged with vitamins and minerals.

Spinach goes fantastically well with dahl lentil stew using our Coriander Curry Paste. You can find the recipe here.

You can’t go wrong with incorporating greens into any of your favourite Latasha’s Kitchen recipes!!

You can find various other recipes incorporating greens here:

• Hariyali Chicken Curry (Indian Green Chicken Curry)
• Chickpea Veggie Rogan Josh
• Lamb or Capretto Saag – Goat in Creamy Spinach Curry
• Korma Cauliflower, Potato, Beans, Carrot & Peas Stew
• Spring Minestrone Soup
• Spring Lamb with Spring Vegies Done in a Slow Cooker
• Curried Mince Chicken
• Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with Fennel and Spinach