The Most Useful Greens For Salad

In a scientific paper devoted to the valuable energy of vegetables and fruits, William Paterson University in New Jersey professor Jennifer Di Noya basically answered the question of what to eat to be healthy. The list of natural energy boosters (they not only charge the body, but also prevent many chronic diseases) includes 47 ingredients. Knowing this fruit and vegetable set, you can easily focus on the most nutritious of them.

Interestingly, only cruciferous and dark green vegetables were included in the top 10 most useful ingredients . All of them are rich in vitamins B, C and K, fiber, calcium, iron, riboflavin and folic acid, which help protect the body against cancer and heart disease. At the same time, they contain a minimum number of calories. By the way, the incredibly popular and promoted superfood in the West - curly cabbage - was only on the 15th position on this list, followed immediately by the dandelion, beloved by the French. You can get valuable minerals from greens regardless of whether you eat them raw or cook them. So, let's find out what this super green is.

Watercress salad

A cousin of common cabbage and arugula - succulent watercress that grows near water bodies, it earned a healthy reputation as early as 400 BC. If Hippocrates is to be believed, patients were treated with watercress in the first hospital on the island of Kos . In the 1700s, Nicholas Culpeper proved that this herb cleansed the blood. Modern science has discovered more than 15 essential vitamins and minerals in its leaves and stems - it has more iron than spinach, more calcium than milk, more vitamin C than oranges. Watercress is low in calories and high in antioxidants. Greenstrengthens bones, teeth and prevents damage to neurons in the brain. And the level of vitamin A, also known as retinol, in it is of great importance for the immune system.

One of the best culinary characteristics of watercress is its versatility. Greens are added to salads fresh, steamed, and added to spicy soups. In Great Britain it is a standard ingredient in sandwiches served at 5 o'clock.

Try to prepare the favorite salad of American nutritionists. To do this, mix 2 cups of chopped watercress and 2 cups of spinach, a pear cut into thick slices, and 1 grated carrot in a deep bowl . In a blender, mix 1 tbsp. grated ginger, ½ cup of almond oil, a little vinegar, honey, 2 tbsp. water and, if desired, a little chili. Dress the salad and sprinkle a handful of sesame seeds on top.

Chinese cabbage

Leafy green vegetables are great for skin and hair care, and Chinese cabbage is one of the headliners here. It contains indole-3-carboxylic acid, which is a powerful antioxidant and is responsible for detoxifying the liver and, as a result, removing toxins. Regular consumption of Chinese cabbage, like other cruciferous vegetables, delays the biological processes of aging. In addition, vitamin A in combination with D makes the skin clean and healthy. Juice from this vegetable can cure inflammation of the gums. And the combination of Chinese cabbage and cucumber (sulfur + silicon) stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss. But for this you need to eat it at least three times a week. It seems that the choice of salad for tonight's dinner is made.

Mangold

Chard is a close relative of spinach with similar taste characteristics and aroma. In Europe, the main supplier of Swiss chard is considered to be Switzerland, but historically it is not the birthplace of greens . The Greek philosopher Aristotle mentioned tart salad in his treatises - as early as the 4th century. B.C. Special signs of fresh Swiss chard are the bright color of the leaves (it can be not only green, but also red), stems that look hard and crunchy. It should be stored only in the cold, no longer than 5 days - the greens should not be wet in any case. Cut the stems and leaves of Swiss chard into a saladseparately. To make chard sweeter, it can be boiled a little for 1-2 minutes (if the stalks are thick - 3) or steamed. Ready chard is a great accompaniment to pasta with garlic and lemon juice, omelet, vegetarian lasagna.

Beet tops

The great home chef Jamie Oliver has revealed to us some sensationally delicious, healthy and unexpected ingredients that most of us would have just thrown in the bin before. These are dandelions, zucchini flowers, and burdock tops, which are among the top 5 in the ranking of the most useful products. It is interesting that in terms of its nutritional composition, beet greens are much more valuable than the vegetable itself. As a source of iron among vegetable products, it is second only to legumes. Add to this beta-carotene (the health of the eyes, especially the retina depends on it), calcium and magnesium - and you will never again throw away the tops when you cook. And it also perfectly helps to stabilize the nervous system - use it in stressful situations. In the treatise "The Art of Cooking", dated 1 st. BC, Greek chefs divided beets into pink fruit, which was added to broth (the prototype of borscht), and leaves , which were eaten with mustard and oil.

Spinach

The very word spinach has nowadays become synonymous with #health #diet #fitness. Succulent greens with Asian genes (it was known in Nepal and China) were spread in the Mediterranean (especially in Spain) thanks to Arab agronomists. When spinach reached Provence, it instantly became the most fashionable vegetablein the region, overtaking cabbage in popularity. It was served with meat and garlic-yogurt sauce. In Venice, cooks added spinach to the list of so-called Muslim flavorings, roasting it with pine nuts and raisins as a side dish to fish. In fact, spinach became a cult in the 1960s thanks to the cartoon about the sailor Popeye. It was no longer necessary to persuade children to eat super greens. Spinach is so multifaceted in terms of its nutritional properties that it has a comprehensive effect on the entire body: it keeps cholesterol under control, improves metabolism, and strengthens memory. And that's not all. Cooking hack: To keep spinach high in iron, always add a little vinegar or lemon juice during cooking.

Chicory

In our country, chicory is primarily associated with a soluble analogue of coffee, which restores digestion, calms the nerves, treats diabetes and regulates heartbeat. Crushed leaves are used as compresses for wound healing. The outer leaves of chicory really have a bitter, astringent taste, and the inner ones are soft and pleasant. Translated from the Dutch chicory - white leaf. It is a universal soldier in salads , it contains just a little: 7% of the daily allowance of selenium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and other minerals. What is important, chicory has the ability to positively influence the level of sex hormones. And greens also contain oligosaccharides - like mother's breast milk. It will give the salad a pleasant sharpness.

Leaf salad

Iceberg salad has already almost received the title of national. He deserved such love for a reason. 20% of it consists of protein, due to which, in the slang of Western nutritionists, it received the nickname Gorillas among the greens . The dietary fibers of iceberg help to regulate digestion and not only to get rid of excess weight, but also to secure a pleasant result on the scales in the long term. And salad relieves swelling - take it into service after long flights. Interestingly, iceberg can fight insomnia thanks to the sedative lactucarium, an analogue of opium, but without strong side effects. This is one of the rare salads that should be eaten exclusively raw.