List Of Green Leafy Vegetables

Since the mid 2000s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has jumped on board the push to go green by encouraging all Americans to include three cups of green leafy vegetables in their diets per week. Green leafy vegetables, a powerhouse of nutrients, are an essential part of everyone's diet for chronic disease prevention, digestive health, water intake and many more health benefits. The American Dietetics Association suggests that the darker green the leaf, the better. The richness in color directly translates to a greater abundance of vitamins packed into the leaves.

Types of Greens

Green leafy vegetables are well known for the vitamins they provide. Vitamins A, C, K, folic acid and calcium are a few of the instrumental vitamins involved in disease prevention. The fibrous array of leafy green vegetables grown in the United States allows consumers to enjoy rich sources of these vitamins in a multitude of ways. A few include; bok choy, collard greens, kale, mesclun, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, turnip greens, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, Swiss chard, rapini, fennel, cabbage and arugula.

How to Eat Them

Leafy greens can be eaten in diverse ways. You can prepare them by steaming, pan-sautéing, eating in salads or adding to soups, sandwiches, pasta dishes and a stir fry. No matter the method you choose, it is important that you include healthy sources of unsaturated fat to your leafy green vegetables, according to research published in August of 2009 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The presence of unsaturated fats in olive oil, nuts, salad dressings, canola oil and fish enhance your body's ability to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins present in leafy greens. A strawberry spinach salad with a balsamic vinaigrette or cooked collard greens made with garlic and olive oil are healthy examples of appropriate food pairings.

Fresh versus Frozen

The preferred mode in which to buy your leafy greens is a debate as classic as the chronological order in which the chicken came to be. Either option, fresh or frozen, offers you the ability to consume leafy greens year-round in a variety of dishes. Frozen vegetables, flash frozen when picked at their optimal nutrient content, allow you to enjoy spinach, for example, out of season at an economical price. Fresh leafy greens packed with the same nutrients allow you to create salads and sandwiches with an added crunch. With a little prep work, the proper cooking techniques and appropriate food pairings, you will be on your way to three cups of vitamin packed leafy greens per week.

Organic versus Conventional

You may wonder if the surge in available organic produce is worth tightening your food budget to buy organic leafy greens. The Environmental Working Group has created a dirty dozen list in which consumers are advised of the 12 most hazardous fruits and vegetables. Of those 12, spinach, kale and collard greens make the rankings. Grown closely to the ground, all leafy greens pose the risk of being laden with pesticides as they make their way from ground to table. If greens are consumed conventionally, you take the risk of exposing your body to 10 pesticides per day, on average. If the higher cost is not an option, the Environmental Working Group suggests buying local domestic produce because international products, on average, contain higher pesticide residue and pose greater risks.