Spring Cleaning!

Spring has sprung! Now is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning in our lives and our bodies. One of the best ways to do this is to include more green leafy vegetables in your diet. If you can get into the habit of including them on a daily basis, your body and mind will thank you. They are the best source of alkaline minerals, have wonderful calming effects on the nervous system, and have amazing healing and cleansing properties. Today I made a green juice with rainbow chard, granny smith apples, celery, carrots, and ginger. I've been on a chard kick lately but some of my favorites include kale(especially lacinato or dinosaur), spinach, and collard greens. If you don't have a juicer I would highly recommend investing in one. It's a great way to get a concentrated dose of nutrients. 
Spinach and chard do, however, contain Oxalic acid, which can interfere with the absorption of the calcium in them. This acid is broken down when cooked, so if you do eat either of these raw, switch it up a bit and don't do it all the time.


Another way of fitting these veggies into your diet is to steam them or sautee them with some garlic and olive oil. I especially love to do this with collard greens. You can do this by first washing the collards, then, one at a time, laying them on a cutting board and cutting the middle vein out. Then, fold the left side onto the right side and roll it up. Slice the roll so you come out with about 1/2 inch strips. Toss it in a skillet with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper for as long as you like. For kale, I like to keep it raw and massage it for about 10 minutes with olive oil. Then I sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Parmesan is also good on it if you do cheese. Enjoy!  


As always, choose organic veggies if possible. Happing cleaning! :)