I believe collard greens have a bum rap. The fact that they are not a part of everyone’s normal repertoire of veggies is unfortunate. Collards are a cruciferous vegetable; in the same family as broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. They are ranked highest among the most commonly eaten cruciferous veggies in their cholesterol-lowering ability, they help lower our cancer risk by supporting our anti-inflammatory and detoxification systems, help fight inflammation and they have 5 grams of fiber in every cup! Put them in soup, mix them in with your spinach- whatever works!
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- Salt & pepper, optional
- 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional
- 1 pound of collards, washed, trimmed & chopped or one bag of cleaned, cut up greens -see trimming info below*
- A few tablespoons of water or vegetable broth
- 1 ½ teaspoon and finely grated orange rind (washed – preferably organic)
- ½ cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 small peeled orange, cut up into small pieces
Directions:
- Heat oil in a 12 inch non-stick pan over medium heat and once it’s hot add cumin and cayenne and stir to combine.
- Add greens to pan and mix with oil and spices. Cover pan tightly and cook over low-medium low heat stirring after 5 minutes when greens have reduced. Replace the cover and cook slowly stirring occasionally. If the greens were just washed and are still quite wet you may not need to add water. If they start to dry out add some liquid.
- You will continue to cook the greens until they are as soft as you want them to be. The only thing you can do wrong is let them dry out while they are cooking or add too much water. They will cook in the steam created because the pan is cover tightly. You want them to remain wet during the process so they continue to get softer.
- As soon as they are done, after about 10-15 minutes, add the orange rind and juice and mix it all up and cook it over high heat for about 30 seconds to a minute.
Place the greens on a pretty platter, top with small orange pieces and enjoy!
*Cleaning & Trimming greens
Buy greens that are not wilted. Rinse each leaf under water and then hold the bottom and pull your hand up, removing the greens from the stem. Stack the leaves on top of each other and slice long ways and then across so the pieces are small. If you make collard greens and don’t mind the stems you can leave them on but if you are trying to get your kids to eat this, the stems must go and the pieces should be bite size. Sometimes if I am pressed for time, I will buy the bag of cleaned and cut up greens. I dump them on the counter and cut them up a bit smaller; this saves a little bit of tine and makes the dish a bit easier to prepare.
*
Interesting Links & Resources:
About Collard Greens
World’s Healthiest Foods
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=138
Cruciferous Vegetables and Cancer Prevention- National Cancer Institute
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/diet/cruciferous-vegetables
Cruciferous Vegetables Improve Survival in Women with Breast Cancer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-fuhrman-md/cancer-prevention_b_1624965.html
Foods that Fight Cancer
American Institute for Cancer Research
http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/foodsthatfightcancer
Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention
United States Department of Health & Human Services
National Cancer Institute
http://www.foh.dhhs.gov/nycu/antioxidents.asp
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/antioxidants
© 2013 InnerMom
Judy Banks, Chopra Certified Meditation Instructor, Holistic Health Coach
All right reserved- Reproduce with Permission only
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