Summer produce is the best! By now, we all know that you can never get too many dark, leafy greens into your diet, and the summer gives us so many easy options and ideas. The farmers markets are overflowing with kale, spinach, swiss chard, so there is no excuse to go a day without them.
Tips To Increase Your Greens Intake
Some of my favourite tips to entice the people in my practice to get more greens in are:
- Chop and prep your greens after you get them. You’ll find it easier to add them to a salad, stir fry throw them into a smoothie or add them to a sandwich if they are ready to go
- Use big leaf greens as a wrap instead of bread with your next ‘sandwich’.
- Make Pesto! It’s so easy, and with no extra preservatives, colours or artificial flavours, it’s better for you too!
My Go-To Pesto Recipe
- 2 cup kale, spinach or swiss chard
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup oregano or basil
- 1/4cup walnuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
- 1/3-1/2 cup cold pressed olive oil (We used Tuscan Herb from the Collingwood Olive Oil Company)
- 1/4 salt
Place all ingredients in food processor and chop on low setting. Once finely chopped, add in 1/3 cup olive oil while the processor is running. Transfer to glass jar and store in refrigerator or freezer. Notice unlike traditional pesto recipes, this one does not contain any parmesan cheese. It can be added, but is not necessary, making this version a great option for vegans.
You’ll notice the recipe guidelines are a little vague, that’s because it’s a versatile recipe and one you can modify depending on what is available seasonally at your market or in your own garden! Pesto can also be very smooth or slightly chunky, depending on how you are going to use it and your own preferences.
Used on pasta, sandwiches, or as a condiment in countless ways, pesto is a wonderful way to add a savoury dose of more greens into your diet! It also freezes well and will give you a little bit of summertime freshness in the fall or winter months.