Team Green
August 25, 2006 by Renee @ 12:18 PMCategory: Featured Food Friday, Food & Nutrition, Summer Edition
It's featured food friday...*crickets*...
What? I missed two Fridays?
::blink::
School is in session...
::blink::
You don't care...
::blink::
Well I do. Fall doesn't start till September 21st, so Summer Edition rages on.
Having already blogged about Red & Blue, this week is my most chowed down color: Green.
Why Green is Good
One reason is that they are packed with nutrients and phytochemicals-substances found only in plants that may help fight disease and improve health. Lutein (pronounced LOO-teen) part of the carotenoid family is a powerful antioxidant found in green leafy vegetables. It is being studied for the role it may play to help maintain good vision. Green vegetables are packed with lutein.
Indoles (pronounced in-DOLS) are another group of phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Indoles are being studied for their role in helping protect against breast cancer, which affects one out of every eight women in the United States, and prostate cancer, which affects one out of every six men in the United States. In a recent study, men who ate cruciferous vegetables at least three times a week had a 42 percent reduction in risk of prostate cancer.
Best Green Sources of Lutein
Kale
Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli 
Green Peas
Spinach
Leafy Greens (Turnip, Collard, Mustard)
Honeydew melon
Kiwifruit
Best Green Sources of Indoles
Broccoli
Cabbage
Kale
Rutabaga
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Bok Choy
Arugala
Watercress
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
How to get your Green on
- For breakfast try a slice of honeydew melon.
- Have a kiwi snack mid-morning.
- For lunch try a spinach salad.
- Have broccoli or green beans for dinner.
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Aside from spinach and celery (which they didn't count as green, but they did honeydew 
) my variety of green grub is definitely lacking. I do cauliflower every once an again, but don't much like it. I've been meaning to make the south beach style mashed potatoes.
Brussels sprouts are an exercise in practicing my non-gagging muscles, but everything else on that list....um no.
And not b/c I hate the food, I just don't give it much thought or feel it needs too much prep. Like the leafy greens. They always seem to come w/instructions, especially southern style, of cooking them the night before, but first you pick them fresh out the field, then you sit @ a table and strip them, then you stand at a sink and wash them, then you clean them, then you wash them again, then you soak them, then you season them, then you cook them. 5 days later, you can eat. 
And the frozen ones, always seem bland. I'm now getting to the point, I can eat raw broccoli, can't push it w/frozen Rutabaga and Arugala, knowwhatimean?
But, I can do kiwi, and now that I know honeydew is green (no eyes, it's not orange) I can add those in too.
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