How many of us heard those word when we were growing up? For some, it may have meant salad greens, but for anyone from the south, it would also include the leaves of various plants that were generally boiled with bacon and served. In my house, it was over-boiled, bless my grandmother who insured everything was fully cooked, and therefore, on the slimy side. It’s taken many years to get past this assessment of greens and some other vegetables.

Greens are very good for you and they provide a strong wallop of vitamin A, around 90% of the recommended amount and also about 54% of vitamin C. And to my surprise, they can taste delicious when not over-cooked. My go-to method for most vegetables is stir-fry or saute’. The quick cook with a small amount of oil ensures that the leaves are just done enough without draining the flavor.

This is the basic recipe for a mixture of greens and a few variations to give you some ideas of the flexibility of the recipe. Being greens, they are also blissfully low calorie and low-carb. Try some soon. You may also be surprised as how good these are.

If you buy fresh celery root with the stalks and greens still on it, clean the stalks and leaves and separate them for cooking and seasoning. The taste is stronger than regular celery so a little goes a long way and brings a slightly sweeter celery taste to foods. This recipe is great with both the leaves and stalks. Use about 1/2 cup of the chopped stalks.

The greens in the recipe are flexible and you can use equivalent amounts of the ones available. If you can’t find turnip greens, use twice as much of one of the other greens or substitute in a different one.

If you want this to be vegetarian, omit the bacon and substitute in a soy-protein alternative, if you wish, or just eat without it.

Basic Greens with Bacon

1 cup Turnip Greens, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup Beet greens, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup Mustard greens, fresh, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup Swiss Chard, cleaned and trimmed
1 stalk Celery, large (11″-12″ long), cleaned and chopped
1 cup Spinach, fresh, torn into pieces
1/4 cup Celery root (celeraic) leaves, cleaned and trimmed
(optional)
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Italian Seasonings (oregano, rosemary, thyme mix)
4 slices Bacon, thick sliced, cooked and broken into pieces
1 teaspoon minced Garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons White Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar

Clean and trim all the greens. Just basically remove the stems and cut or tear into smaller pieces. Dry them on a stack of paper towels or let them sit in a colander for about 30 minutes. You can prepare more greens than you plan to use, then store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Cook the bacon (I prefer the baked in the oven method), let it cool, then cut or break into pieces.

Heat a deep skillet or wok style skillet with one tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute before adding most of the greens. Don’t add the spinach until last as it cooks very quickly. Add the celery at this time also as it will take a little longer to cook.

Cook and stir the greens until they begin to get wilted and are a deeper color. Add the bacon and mix it in well. Then add the spinach. Cook and stir it in until the spinach wilts. Add the vinegar and turn off the heat. Serve. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 88.2 Fat: 6.7 g Net Carbs: 2.1 g Protein: 3.5 g

 
Variations:

Greens with Turnips

Add 1 cup Turnips, cubed and cooked (boil or microwave) until fork tender.

Clean, peel and chop one or two medium turnips to make 1 cup cubed. Put into a bowl, no added water, cover and steam in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until they are fork tender. Or you can put them in about 1/2 cup of water in a small pan and boil them until they are fork tender on medium heat. Make sure they don’t run out of water.

Cook the greens as above. Add the turnips when you add the bacon.

Calories: 97.3 Fat: 6.7 g Net Carbs: 3.6 g Protein: 3.7 g

Greens with Brussels Sprouts

Add 1 cup shaved Brussels Sprouts with the initial group of greens. They will take a little longer to cook. Can’t find shaved Brussels Sprouts? Buy regular ones and chop them into smaller pieces or put them through the shredder of your food processor.

Calories: 102.4 Fat: 6.8 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 4.6 g

Super Greens with Daikon and Mushrooms (Pictured)

Add 1 cup Daikon Radish, Cubed and cooked (microwave)
1 cup shaved Brussels Sprouts
1/2 cup bok choy, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Peel about 6 inches (assuming about 2 1/2 inches in diameter) of daikon. Cut into cubes and measure one cup. Put in a microwave safe bowl, no added water, cover and steam in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until they are fork tender. Or you can put them in about 1/2 cup of water in a small pan and boil them until they are fork tender on medium heat. Make sure they don’t run out of water.

 

Cook the greens as above. Add the bok choy when you start the greens. Add the daikon and mushrooms when you add the bacon.

Makes 6 servings
Calories: 79.6 Fat: 5.7 g Net Carbs: 2.5 g Protein: 3.3 g

Posted on 10/10/2013