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Kale gets all the rock star glory, and staples like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach rightfully belong on everyone’s favorite-veggie list.
Here, I want to give a shout-out to the lesser-known non-starchy green veggies that don’t always get love but deserve a bigger appearance on your plate. These quieter team players pack the nutrient status of the more popular crowd but don’t always get proper recognition.
Here’s a shout-out to the lesser-known non-starchy green veggies that don’t always get love but deserve a bigger appearance on your plate.
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My favorite way to try new veggies is at a restaurant, where everything tastes better and allows you to be a little more adventurous. But even if you’ve never tried these 7, give them a whirl on your next salad or side dish, and you’ll most likely be amazed while turning your most veggie-phobic family member into a green veggie-lover.
- Arugula. Fascinating factoid: this fabulous leafy green was considered an aphrodisiac among ancient Egyptians and Romans. Arugula belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family and comes loaded with vitamins, carotenoids, and cancer-fighting compounds like isothiocyanates, all for very few calories.
- Collard greens. Another cruciferous-vegetable member, collards come packed with nutrients, fiber, cancer-fighting compounds, and the eye-health carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. You’ll typically find these cooked with vinegar and maybe a little ham in southern restaurants in the U.S.
- Dandelion greens. Once considered a weed, we now understand the nutrition value of this leafy green. Among its many roles, dandelion aids liver health, improves your mood, helps blood sugar imbalance, and can even balance hormones. Its nutrient-packed profile (They are nature’s richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene!) landed dandelions on one list among the top four green vegetables in overall nutritional value.
- Okra. A staple of the southern U.S. and Greek cooking, okra contains an impressive nutrient profile, including the rock star antioxidant glutathione, fiber, and vitamins like vitamins A and K, as well as folate.
- Purslane. Another leafy green once mistaken for a weed, purslane ranks tops with the anti-inflammatory omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and comes packed with nutrients like calcium, potassium, and vitamin A.
- Swiss chard. A member of the goosefoot family of plants and a relative of beets, this leafy green comes with red, white, or yellow stems. Swiss chard also packs a ridiculous amount of nutrients. “A cup of cooked chard gives you almost 4 g of fiber, more than 100 mg of calcium, an incredible 961 mg of potassium, and more than 30 mg of vitamin C,” writes Dr. Jonny Bowden in The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. “You also get more than 10,000—that’s right, 10,000—IUs of vitamin A, more than 6,000 of beta-carotene (plus some alpha-carotene as well), and a staggering 19,000 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin.”
- Watercress. Another cruciferous veggie that, ounce for ounce, contains 4 times the calcium of milk, as well as anti-cancer isothiocyanates. You can eat it raw in a salad or cook it up as a delicious, nutrient-packed side.
The post These 7 Little-Known Non-Starchy Green Veggies Deserve Your Attention appeared first on JJ Virgin.
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