Are you eating enough vegetables a day?
We should be getting five to seven servings a day of vegetables. One serving is about the size of your palm. Even as a nutritionist, I have to work hard at ensuring that I have a good intake of these nutrient dense foods every day. Green smoothies are a good way of doing this. I usually recommend these as snacks or as an occasional replacement for a meal. Remember, chewing food triggers stomach acid production and supports optimal digestion. Another way of doing it is making a power salad pesto that can be added to salads, stir fries and other main meals. It’s a great way of getting in your vegetable intake without eating heaps of salad each day.
To recap on my earlier article on intermittent fasting. Fasting is not a license to eat what you want. To be healthy you still need to make good food choices.
Serves: 1
Prep: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 hearty handful of watercress or dandelion or kale
- 1 hearty handful of baby spinach
- 1 hearty handful of fresh basil leaves or coriander
- 1 hearty handful of fresh parsley leaves or other suitable herbs in season
- 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil or avocado, hempseed oil or flaxseed oil
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
Optional: Add turmeric, a dash of salt and pepper for taste. Avocado can be added for extra creaminess and replace and add other ingredients for variety such as garlic, cucumber, olives, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts.
Directions
Blend or process ingredients to form a pesto like mixture. Otherwise, cut finely and combine in a bowel ready to be served.
It’s that quick and easy!
Nutritional Benefits
Essential greens are packed with nutrients and support the detoxification process. Dandelion supports liver function, encourages weight loss, acts as a diuretic and regulates blood sugar. Coriander and basil are good digestive aids and have other health properties too. Kale and watercress are good sources of vitamins and minerals such as copper, iron, calcium and manganese. Parsley is a good source of vitamin C, folic acid and iron. Spinach contains high levels of iron and lutein, which promotes healthy eye-sight.
