Dandelion Greens, Spinach, Romaine and the Exotic Lettuces
Did you know that dandelion greens are edible and “wildly” packed with nutrition? They are one of dozens of wild and exotic greens that add spice, variety and diverse phytonutrients to your typical green salad. There are four types of actual lettuce – leaf, crisphead, butterhead, and romaine. Yet the term “lettuce” is also used generically for any green used in making green salad.
In the modern fast food mentality, iceberg lettuce is typically used as the main lettuce in salads. No wonder people find salads bland and boring! Iceberg is a type of crisphead that stores and ships well making it cost effective to mass produce. But it’s sorely lacking in nutritional qualities, flavor or character and can hardly be counted as a “green.” To make eating fresh greens and salads more exciting, more nutrient-dense, and more healing during your detox, try eating a wide variety of lettuce types. Here are examples of some of the most nutritious greens for salads – many can be used for braising and steaming as well. Mesclun Mix - the French Connection France made the idea of mesclun mix popular around the world. It is simply a mix of greens using complementary flavors. Mesclumo is a French word that means “mix.” By mixing your greens you not only benefit from a variety of tastes but a variety of nutrients as well.
You can make your own mix or buy a mix, often called spring greens or baby greens. A traditional mesclun mix is typically made with baby greens and blends mild, bitter, piquant and spicy flavors to create a more delicious and nutritious salad base. Fresh herbs may be added as well. There is not a set recipe for making a mesclun mix as so many varieties of greens are available. The baby sized leaves are the most tender and flavorful. Here are some examples: Mild: romaine, spinach, red leaf lettuce, butterhead lettuce Spicy: arugula, watercress, lamb’s quarter Piquant: mustard greens, dandelion greens, chervil, chard, beet greens Bitter: radicchio, escarole (flat endive), friseé (curly endive), mizuna Check out our recipe for a Clean Green Chef Salad for additional salad making ideas including the herbs, flowers and sprouts to add to your mix. Dandelion Greens - so much more than a Weed! This wild green is most commonly thought of as a weed, known best for its prolific yellow flowers. But dandelion greens are one of the most nutritious and healing greens you can buy or forage. The flowers are edible too. Dandelion greens have more vitamin A, vitamin K, calcium and iron than even broccoli.
Dandelion greens are powerful cleansers as they support proper digestion. They are a diuretic and a laxative, so they increase urine and stool production which supports the elimination of toxins. They also reduce swelling and have been shown to treat viruses, edema, gout, eczema and acne. 1 Dandelion greens are one of the first greens to be harvested in the Spring and are best in salads when tender and young. However, the large dandelion greens make a great addition to green smoothies or they can replace the greens in our recipes for Sautéed Collard Greens or Mustard Greens in Coconut Milk. If you wish to gather your own dandelion greens make certain to find a place safe from the use of pesticides and other chemicals. Roadsides, parks and public lawns are probably not safe areas for foraging your dandelion greens! Watch for them in specialty markets and health food stores in the early Spring. Romaine Lettuce for a Better Salad If you’re looking for a traditional and familiar lettuce, you can’t go wrong with romaine. Romaine lettuce is low calorie, high in water content, and packed with nutrients. It’s crunchy and sweet so it’s great for salads, wraps, and green smoothies.
The fiber in romaine is particularly cleansing and heart healthy. It combats cholesterol by preventing it from oxidizing and sticking to the insides of arteries. Romaine is full of vitamins A, K, C as well as folate, manganese and chromium. 2 Lettuce is listed among the "dirty dozen" by the Environmental Working Group. These are the 12 foods that test for the highest concentration of pesticide residue when grown conventionally. So be sure to buy your lettuce organic. Lettuce and other greens are also prone to carrying microscopic bacteria and parasites, so it’s wise to remove these in a safe way. Soaking any of your suspect produce in a mild solution of apple cider vinegar will purge the bugs. Use one tablespoon of vinegar per gallon of water and soak for 15 minutes. 3 Romaine and leaf lettuce should be washed and dried before storing in the refrigerator. It will keep this way for up to 7 days. A salad spinner Spinach - Build Energy and Strength This common green was made popular for many of us through the antics of the cartoon character, Popeye the Sailor Man. We were taught that eating spinach would give us strong muscles like Popeye. Little did we know, this vitamin-packed green also protects us from cancer, heart disease, alzheimer’s, and macular degeneration.
Unlike Popeye’s infamous canned version, fresh is always best. Fresh spinach provides 13 different flavonoids that protect against breast, colon and prostate cancer. They cause the toxic cells to simply self-destruct before they can do harm.
In Healing With Whole Foods Spinach is best eaten raw and tastes great in salad. Try it in our recipes for green smoothies or raw spinach soup. Swiss Chard and Beet Greens Swiss chard and beet greens are in the same family as spinach. They are two more champions among greens, packed with nutrients. They contain high levels of vitamins K, A, C, E along with magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, and dietary fiber. They are also a good source of copper, calcium, B vitamins, protein, phosphorus, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid. 2
With this powerhouse of nutrients, these greens cleanse the digestive tract and prevent cancers along the way. They are excellent for bones, lungs and immune support. And like spinach they have iron for energy, lutein for eyes and vitamin E for brain support. Popeye would have been equally as powerful with a daily dose of chard or beet greens in place of his spinach! Chard can be deep green or rimmed in red like beet greens. Store unwashed chard or beet greens in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 days. Chard has a slightly pungent taste crossed with the mildly salty taste of spinach. Beet greens are slightly pungent and bitter. They are both hardy leaves like kale, collard greens, and dandelion greens and make great additions to green smoothies. The baby varieties are great in salads. The bitterness of chard and beet greens lessens with cooking and becomes mild like spinach. You can interchange these greens with any recipe using spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens or dandelion greens. When you have the great fortune of finding beets with the greens attached, try our scrumptious recipe for balsamic beets and beet greens. 1Be Nourished with Rebecca Wood 3Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition), by Paul Pitchford
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is a great investment for drying your lettuce without damaging the tender leaves.
One cup of fresh spinach provides 200% of the body’s daily need for vitamin K. This antioxidant vitamin protects our bones, especially when blended with the calcium and magnesium in spinach. It is also rich in vitamins C and A, protecting the heart and immune system. And these vitamins combined with spinach’s riboflavin counteract migraine headaches. Finally, spinach is high in vitamin E for improving brain function, lutein for healthy eyes, and iron for superior energy and strength (thus the Popeye connection). 2
, Paul Pitchford says that the cooling nature of Spinach “cleanses the blood of toxins that cause skin disease and discharges marked by redness and inflammation” He also notes that spinach facilitates bowel movements and urination.3
