K-y’all-ard Greens

So some of “y’all” were wondering about collard greens when I mentioned them in an earlier post. What do they taste like? And are they similar to kale?

Well, kids. It’s time for summer school again. Yay! So sit back and read on. You will not be quizzed. More yay!

Collard greens to me have always been synonymous with Southern style cooking. I’ve never had them cooked in fact prior to my high raw journey I don’t think I had ever seen what they looked like raw so these leafy greens were completely foreign to me until last year.

Taste

Don’t remember much about them the first time I had them (sometime last fall maybe?). I take that as a sign now that it means I didn’t dislike them but I also didn’t love them. Indifferent I suppose. Now, fast forward to the other day when we had them for dinner as wraps. I loved them. I found them to be very mild and rather neutral tasting but this could be for a couple of reasons: 1) all the other veggies we stuffed them with neutralized the flavor or 2) allergies. I asked hubby what he thought they tasted like and he said kind of like broccoli. Wha??? I don’t even like raw broccoli so how could this be?! He reminded me of my allergies. My senses of smell and taste have been weak when my allergies get bad. Oh and one more reason maybe why I thought them to be mild, I SNARFED these down! Ha ha! I’m surprised I could taste anything I ate them so fast. Holey moley folks! I even lost track of how many I ate. Whoopsie!

Okay I’m allergy-free now so I grabbed a leaf. Munch munch munch…they actually remind me of a mild mustard green without the spice or similar to spinach I’d say. There is a distinct flavor but I would still classify it as fairly mild as far as most greens go. Not something I would eat by itself but as a wrap, oh yeah. So sis? Your hubby would not like these at all!

Eat these quick too. The longer they sit around the more bitter they become and you don’t want that. The smaller the leaf the more mild they’ll be also.

How about the rest of you? Have had you them? What do you think they taste like?

Cousin Kale and Health Benefits

Collards are members of the cabbage family and are closely related to kale and mustard greens. They have large, dark, smooth, green leaves. Perfect for wraps! Just cut out the big part of the rib.

The health benefits of these leafy leaves are off the charts! Want fiber? Got it. Vitamin C? Yeah that too and Vitamin A and K and folate and B6 and other cancer-fighting properties. So we’re talking helping you against cancer, heart disease, cataracts, helps your blood, your bones, your eyes, your immune system and fills your tummy.

Here’s a chart based on cooked collard greens. Amazing numbers.

Chart courtesy of WHFoods.com

Not saying you have to but if you’re interested in some summer reading you can read more about collard greens here and here since I only gave you a brief summary of the health benefits. Most websites talk about how to cook them or whatever and I don’t care if you do but if you want to reap the many health benefits collards have to offer you may not want to cook them “Southern-style” if you know what I mean. Wink.

Now, go enjoy some collard wraps or put them in a juice/smoothie or in a salad. I spotted a recipe on Rediscover Raw Food that sounds and looks yummy.

Time for recess!