Pantry Check: Go Green with Greens
Collard greens and cabbage are two of the best bargains in the grocery store for both nutrition and cost.Ounce for ounce they are both nutritional powerhouses. They are high in nutrients and phytochemicals, plant chemicals that may be beneficial to your health. But they are also low in sugar, fat and sodium.As we picked them up and took them to our favorite farmer’s market counter, one woman remarked, “those are interesting, what do you do with them?” Good question! And to that we say, “buy them and then use them all week.”If you have them on hand, that is half the battle.Cabbage is more easy to find uses - you cal slice it and use it in salads, slaws, tacos and stir fry dishes during the week. For those who like to cook more you can steam it and use it as a wrap for rice stuffings or asian stir fry dishes.Collard greens have a variety of recipes found on the internet. Our favorite dish doesn’t really need a recipe - we sauteed sweet onions and peppers and added on sliced collard greens and steamed them all lightly in a pan. Some classic recipes call for extended cooking to make them very tender. It is a matter of personal preference.Other uses for collard greens involve adding them to steamed veggie mixes, shredding to add more color to salads, adding to soups, stir fry dishes, pasta, rice and steamed spinach (we like to use that as a base for fish or chicken).Collards go well with Southern style dishes like oven fried chicken, Ham Baked Chicken (this issues), baked sweet potatoes and corn bread.
