10 Easy Ways To Have More Leafy Greens

One of the questions I’m asked is often, how does someone include more leafy greens into everyday eating? It’s a great question and has many creative, fun and tasty answers.

In another blog, I mention some benefits and why you should include more leafy greens into your daily routine. 

Aside from nurturing skin health, improving cognitive function and improving your gut health, leafy greens can also help you fight diseases, maintain a healthy acid profile and help to balance blood sugar. 

 Try the below ideas and recipes, and enjoy! 

1. Diversify Your Salads

This may seem like an obvious answer, but to get creative with your salads is one of the quickest and easiest ways to diversify your gut microbiome while enjoying the benefits that come with more leafy greens. 

Some ideas for salads: include pak choi, broccoli sprouts, rocket and microgreens. The different flavours and textures might surprise you! You could also toss together baby leaves with microgreens and olive oil and herbs for a tasty green salad option. 

2. Upgrade Every Meal With Microgreens

Wherever you see that a meal is lacking greens, you can always add in a big handful of microgreens. Think about adding them to sandwiches, as a side, to your stir fry and breakfasts. If you prefer more cooked greens, you can have wilted greens as a side dish by shallow blanching or sauteing a young leaf- or microgreen mix with broccoli sprouts, baby beetroot leaves, baby spinach, pak choi, and more.  Try wilted greens with lemon juice and black pepper, you can also add tahini to give this a little more flavour. 

3. Green Smoothies

You can always add leafy greens to your smoothies. Try this recipe out: 

Tightly pack 75% of your blender with leafy greens such as baby spinach, kale, tat soi, pak choi, shepherds lettuce, microgreens, then add 25% your frozen fruit of choice, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and water. Blend and enjoy! 

A daily leafy green smoothie, as Dr. Brooke Goldner recommends, can help to lower inflammation, and boost your vitality and immunity. Try some of her green smoothie recipes if you’re inspired. 

Tip: Fresh is always better when it comes to leafy greens for your smoothies, but something to try as a plan B is to wash and chop them up, and then freeze them in your ice cube trays. Use a couple of cubes and you have a fresh, delicious green smoothie in minutes. 

4. Add Greens To Soups

Boosting your immune system is easy with soups. You can add broths and different kinds of leafy greens, vegetables and herbs to create flavour and give your body many of the micronutrients it needs. Adding greens into your stew and soup recipes will up your greens intake for the day while giving you this wonderful boost.

Try my vegetable soup recipe which includes Sage. Sage is loaded with antioxidants and contains antimicrobial phytochemicals, in other words, it helps you fight infection. It’s a  tasty leafy green option. 

Another of my favourite, and well-received recipes is my Green Soup. 

Fry a large onion and 1 clove of garlic (optional) in coconut oil. Add a little bit of cumin if you like the flavour. Slice or cube a sweet potato and fry a bit together with the onion, garlic and cumin mix. Then add water and Herbamare salt (or a salt of your choice).  Boil until the sweet potato is soft. Then add a large bunch of baby spinach together with a large bunch of kale (washed).  Boil for a maximum of 5 more minutes. Then blend the soup in a blender. Have with a dash of olive oil and black pepper to taste.

5. Green Wraps

For a unique take on traditional wraps, tortillas or even tacos, use big leafy green leaves instead of the usual flour-based wraps. You could even blanch a large cabbage leaf and use that as a wrap.  Add in the vegetables, flavours and herbs that you love, with a protein and you have a tasty lunch that everyone will love. 

6. Kale Chips Today, Leafy Greens for Tomorrow

Kale chips are a delicious snack for those who enjoy something savoury to nibble. To make kale chips, all you need is some kale leaves rinsed and dried. Toss in some olive oil, add Herbamare salt or sea salt, and then arrange them on a baking tray. Bake for about 5 minutes until crisp. 

Once you’ve enjoyed them, and you have some left over, break them up and save them for a soup, curry or stew addition the next day. 

7. Blend Them In Sauces And Dressings

If you make your own salad dressings and sauces, then throw some microgreens, spinach, rocket or your favourite leafy green and blend until the sauce is saucy! 

8. Leafy Greens Bed For Protein

When you cook a protein for a meal, whether it is fish, chicken, lamb or other proteins, lie it on a bed of baby spinach leaves, rocket, young leaf salad or microgreens. Eggs are another option to add onto your favourite shredded greens, see my recipe below. 

9. Try my Leafy Green Breakfast Recipe

This breakfast is my go-to on a busy day when I need lots of energy  and it’s super quick to put together. Try my favourite breakfast recipe here:

Breakfast Idea: Delicious Shredded Leafy Greens With Eggs

10. Grow Leafy Greens In Your Garden

For your very own supply of leafy greens that you know are pesticide free, grow them in your own garden or on your balcony. If you don’t have a garden or a balcony, you can even grow them easily indoors.  

I often grow microgreens in small containers on my kitchen counter.  That way, it is always handy if I just want to add a quick handful to a meal.  You can even grow them in used take-away coffee cups. For the sake of the environment, we need to avoid these single-use products. 

But if you do use them from time to time, or have friends or family who do, keep the cups instead of throwing them away after a few minutes of use. Punch holes in the bottom with a knife or a fork, fill it with soil and sprinkle some seeds on it. Add a thin layer of soil on top. Water every day – even twice a day – with a tiny bit of water and watch your microgreens grow in your kitchen. 

The act of growing your own vegetables and greens is very rewarding and means you have a constant supply of the ones you enjoy the most. 

If you try any of these ideas or recipes, tag me on social media when you post your delicious meals! For more from me, browse the Embrace Life blog and learn more about my books.