Healthy Endeavors

One of my favorite clean eating dishes is collard greens, and this time of year it’s easy to find fresh, locally grown collards that support a clean eating lifestyle.  Greens are natural antioxidants and have copious amounts of Vitamins A, C, E and K as well as calcium, iron and potassium. And you know what else? They are so amazingly delicious!

Even better, there are simple ways to prepare collard greens that won’t have you cooking them for hours and using pork fat, or boiling all the nutrients away.  My preferred method for preparing greens is sauteing.  It’s a quick cooking method that lends itself to creating a super clean and healthy dish in less than 30 minutes.  I like to make a plentiful amounts so that we can enjoy them over several days.

As you can imagine, I always like to go for organic greens, and when possible, I buy them locally.  I couldn’t find any at the farmers’ market on Saturday, but my nearby health food store usually carries a locally grown variety.  And whether bought locally or at the store, I’m a big fan of getting them home and preparing them as soon as possible to retain the nutrient value.

This particular recipe was an experiment, using ingredients I found in my pantry.  I had the mind to caramelize the onions and I thought it would be a nice contrast with the ever so slight bitterness of the collards.  And I was right —  I got the thumbs up from both my neighbor Haruko who joined us for dinner, and my husband Bruce. I think you’ll love this quick, simple and clean eating recipe that is so healthy!

Collard Greens w/Carmelized Onions, Raisins and Walnuts

Ingredients:

2 bunches fresh collard greens
2 large onions
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. raisins
small handful of walnuts
salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Wash collard greens, pat dry and cut from the stalk.  Lie several leaves on top of each other, roll up like a cigar and slice into 1/4″ strips. Chop strips into smaller pieces.
2. Slice onions into half crescents.
3. In large skillet, heat olive oil and saute onions on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until sweet, making sure not to burn them.
4. Add collard greens and saute for approximately 10 minutes until wilted.
5. Add raisins and walnuts and cook another 1-2 minutes.
6. Add salt, to taste.

What’s your favorite ay to prepare collard greens? What do you do so that they’re simply irresistible and you get your whole family to enjoy?

Filed under: clean eating, Farmers' market, Greens, Healthy Meals, Locally Grown Food