Meet the Greens

Just to warn you, this post is very green. No, not green with envy or environmentally green, just….green. As in the color green. As in the vegetables known as “greens.” I eat a lot of greens. Basically because they are some of the only vegetables I can eat without issues. Fortunately they are the most nutritious veggies out there, full of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. Many greens are included on the “safe to eat” column for fructose malabsorption. They include spinach, Swiss chard and kale. Spinach is the one I eat the most of. It’s cheap and versatile. I throw it into salads, soups and casseroles. I buy it fresh and frozen. I eat it A LOT.

Swiss chard it another favorite. I like to use it in soups or saute it. A lot of people aren’t familiar with it. I only started cooking with it when I found out I had fructose malabsorption. So you may be wondering what to do with these huge leaves. First, don’t be afraid to buy a really large bunch. Swiss chard cooks down a lot and what looked like a ginormous amount raw can look like a pitiful amount cooked.

Second, learning how to tackle Swiss chard is half the battle. You can eat both the stems and leaves. Just keep in mind that it takes longer to cook the stems than the leaves.

Now you are ready to make this recipe for sauteed Swiss chard with lemon and Parmesan. It’s very easy, delicious and nutritious. It’s a great side dish to anything you may be serving for dinner.

Made with rainbow Swiss chard found at the farmers’ market 8-5-13.

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Simple Sauteed Swiss Chard
Low-FODMAP
serves 4

Ingredients

1 large bunch Swiss chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Rinse chard and cut the leaves from the stem. Cut leaves across into 1-inch strips. Chop stems.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add stems and saute about 5 minutes. Add leaves and saute another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan just before serving.