Spring is a great time to clean up your diet and add more greens. Greens are wonderful for boosting your immune system, promoting growth of healthy gut bacteria, and improving lung and respiratory function to name a few benefits. Perfect for battling seasonal allergies!

What greens are the best to add to your diet? Dark leafy greens such as kale, collard greens, watercress, swiss chard, arugula, bok choy, cabbage, spinach, and broccoli. Some are best eaten cooked and others can be enjoyed either raw or cooked.

Greens are high in the essential minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E, and K. Be sure to consume with a little bit of fat for maximum nutrient absorption. Adding greens to your weekly menu can reduce your need for expensive seasonal allergy medicines and cold medicines. They are also great for keeping skin clear as they are blood purifiers and help improve circulation.

Let me introduce you to my favorite leafy green, kale. This is green curly leaf kale, you can also get red curly leaf kale and dinosaur (lacinato) which is a flat leaf kale. This is a great tasting green that can be simply steamed then drizzled with olive oil, sea salt, and your favorite spices.

This is raw kale that I purchased from Whole Foods. They do sell it at Publix already chopped and washed in a bag labeled Morning Glory.

Kale in steaming pot. Steam for 5-7 minutes until done to your liking.

Here’s the kale ready to eat, simply drizzled with olive oil and a dash of sea salt. Delicious and healthy greens in no time!