Ever since we looked into aspects of a less inflammatory diet as well as carb-free, or at least carb-poor food choices, we learned a lot about the benefits of so-called bitter greens, namely Swiss chard, kale, beet greens, dandelion greens and the like. And so, following the rule that a healthy meal should be planned around 2-3 vegetables (2 above ground and 1 below ground) and rounded off with 1 grain or legume and 1 protein, we started eating more and more “bitter” greens.
Come to find out, the bitterness of bitter greens, if you even think they are bitter, is softened if you throw a bland vegetable like zucchini into the skillet as well. Thus, one of last summer’s staples was a bunch of Swiss chard sauteed with chopped zucchini and some green onion and garlic. That covered the desired different veggies and took care of some of the overabundance of last summer’s zucchini and Swiss chard plants as well.
Now here’s what I’ve learned recently: If you have a hard time with bitter as a taste, but have realized that it would be good for you to eat more bitter greens, you might want to try a day of fasting before cooking a batch of beet greens or kale. Fasting can prepare your taste buds for something new because your gut is what determines whether or not you like/ crave something. I find this to be quite convincing and a good place to start if you need to do something about your not-so-very-healthy cravings, and also to train your palate to be less delicate.
Other people are much better at explaining this kind of thing, so head over here for more info about all things bitter yet better.
And today, I’ll be a-fasting.
Images: Young Swiss Chard
Denney Home Place 