Chard or silverbeet anyone?

[Jed]

One of my favourite vegies is what we call in Australia, silverbeet, in the US it's known as chard.
So easy to grow and it's full of vitamins and minerals. We grow ours, almost, pretty much year round in our poly tunnel.
It's very high in vitamins A, B6, C and K, niacin, carotenes and folate. There is a down side though that is not well known. Some people should take it in small amounts, because of the high vitamin K, as this is an anti coagulant.
It also has oxalic acid which affects others but cooking removes it and the water should therefore be thrown away.
If you cook it too long though, you will lose 50% of the nutrients.
So cook it gently. Myself,I can't get enough of it. I cook it all up stems and all and have used the water to make homemade fettuccine.
I found this video that shows a great recipe something you can do with the stems alone. Yum.

!

 

[lovinglife]

I grow chard as well, only I use it raw in smoothies, one of my favorites.

 

[Jed]

I grow chard as well, only I use it raw in smoothies, one of my favorites.

That sounds like quite a combination. I'ld never considered smoothies other than a sweet drink. I'm not sure what to expect. Maybe I should give it a go. How many leaves do you use?

 

[lovinglife]

I love my green smoothies, the possibilities are endless. For starters I almost always use a big bunch of spinach, then I add either or kale, chard, beet/greens, carrots, leaf lettuce, so far we have spinach and at least one other green, then I always add one frozen banana, an apple (I remove the stem and the fuzzy bottom but add core and all), or any other combination of fruit to suit your sweetness requirements, but always a banana in every batch. Kiwi is good, dates also can be used for sweetness, mango, its endless. WOW got a little carried away there, can you tell I like them??

Here is one of my favorites:

1 10 oz bag spinach
2 spoons frozen orange juice (more or less as desired)
1 cup almond milk
1 cup frozen peaches
water or ice to your preference

add to your blender (a high powered blender works best but any should do)
blend on high in a high powered blender for 45 seconds to 1 minute
blend in an ordinary blender until desired smoothness....

 

[lovinglife]

oh and start with a lot of spinach but the other greens just add a few at a time, some are pretty strong tasting. Spinach is real mellow and has so much goodness in it..As you get the taste, you can start adding more of the other greens and less fruit. If I make a smoothie with a 10 oz bag of spinach and use some other greens and my fruit, it is suppose to add up to 15 servings of fruit and veggies, beat that will ya, for one meal....

 

[Jed]

I love my green smoothies, the possibilities are endless. For starters I almost always use a big bunch of spinach, then I add either or kale, chard, beet/greens, carrots, leaf lettuce, so far we have spinach and at least one other green, then I always add one frozen banana, an apple (I remove the stem and the fuzzy bottom but add core and all), or any other combination of fruit to suit your sweetness requirements, but always a banana in every batch. Kiwi is good, dates also can be used for sweetness, mango, its endless. WOW got a little carried away there, can you tell I like them??
Here is one of my favorites:
1 10 oz bag spinach
2 spoons frozen orange juice (more or less as desired)
1 cup almond milk
1 cup frozen peaches
water or ice to your preference
add to your blender (a high powered blender works best but any should do)
blend on high in a high powered blender for 45 seconds to 1 minute
blend in an ordinary blender until desired smoothness....

I'll have to try this.
That is the most amazing combination of vegies and fruits I have ever come across.
Kale has a taste you either like or don't. I find I can only eat it by itself as a side serve. I know it's right up there as being one of the best vegetables for good heath. Easy to grow. We grow the purple variety which is a little less strong in flavour.
How did you come about to mix so much together. And, you must be in such good health from your smoothies. Do you ever get colds or flu?

 

[lovinglife]

I didn't think I was getting enough greens in my diet, especially RAW greens, so I started reading up on green smoothies. I have had simply put the most amazing results when eating a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. After about 3 days with eating one cooked meal a day with everything else raw, you wouldn't believe how much energy you get. Of course sometimes you will have detox symptoms, but you must make it through, the results are awesome. I must confess I have fallen off the green wagon, but am starting back on them, talking about them makes me realize how much I miss them. I did buy a high powered blender, and it is so worth it if you make a lot of smoothies. I have made some wonderful all natural - raw salad dressings in the blender also.

 

[maddie]

I didn't think I was getting enough greens in my diet, especially RAW greens, so I started reading up on green smoothies. I have had simply put the most amazing results when eating a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. After about 3 days with eating one cooked meal a day with everything else raw, you wouldn't believe how much energy you get. Of course sometimes you will have detox symptoms, but you must make it through, the results are awesome. I must confess I have fallen off the green wagon, but am starting back on them, talking about them makes me realize how much I miss them. I did buy a high powered blender, and it is so worth it if you make a lot of smoothies. I have made some wonderful all natural - raw salad dressings in the blender also.

Lovinglife, I have to agree with you completely on this... I am one a diet of one cooked meal ( No simple carbs like rice or wheat) and raw fresh veggies and fruits. I have just gotten past the ten day mark and I have already lost two pounds of weight, but the best part is, I feel light and energetic. I use a lot of chard and spinach in my diet.
I am so happy to have changed the way I eat.. I can see my skin glow with health in a few days..
@ Jed thanks for sharing the recipe.

 

[Jed]

@ Jed thanks for sharing the recipe.

No worries. Chard and silver-beet can be under rated. It is nice to see that we can use it in different ways with all the heath benefits it can give.

 

[Rzashida]

I am anemic on occasion. One year I grew Swiss chard and ate it everyday. After eating all that chard, I discovered I wasn't anemic (for that summer). Swiss chard is known for having super vitamins.

 

[scotkat]

We are growing Chard in the kitchen garden of the walled garden project for Glamis Castle

 

[ChanellG]

I love chard! I was just saying elsewhere that it is a new food for me and that I would like to try growing it. My only concern with it would be keeping the worms and snails away so I would have to prepare for that in advance before starting. I also want to try growing lettuce and spinach in another month or so when things have started to cool down a bit.