Collard Greens: A Plentiful Source of Antioxidants, Manganese, and Calcium
~ by Tracy Neely
It feels good to finally be able to settle down and relax. Some days are easier than others to get my son to go to sleep and today was not one of those days. Actually today was such a wonderful day, I spent the day at the book store, which is such a luxury for me. I don’t get an opportunity to do that during the week so I took full advantage of the fact that my husband was home with our son today.
To mark the occasion, I decided to make myself a smoothie to take to the book store. I decided to make a smoothie using collard greens. I have eaten collard greens since I was young girl living in Tennessee. Our family would have a big dinner every Sunday where my grandmother would faithfully cook collard greens, but I have to admit that the collards weren’t very green because they cooked for maybe an hour or so until they were practically wilted. They were cooked with love and truth be told when I was a young girl, I didn’t think about the nutrients in the greens.
When I first started creating smoothies I wasn’t so adventurous about the different variety of greens. I pretty much stuck to baby spinach and kale, but after reading about all the benefits of leafy greens, I knew it was time to change things up. Now one of my favorite “greens” is parsley! I agree with Tera, parsley is simply magical!
The Fascinating Facts About Collard Greens
Long a staple of the Southern United States, collard greens, unlike their cousins kale and mustard greens, have a very mild, almost smoky flavor. Although they are available year-round they are at their best from January through April.
While collard greens share the same botanical name as kale they have their own distinctive qualities. Like kale, collards are one of the non-head forming members of the Brassica family along with broccoli and cauliflower. The dark blue-green leaves that are smooth in texture and relatively broad distinguish them from the frilly edged leaves of kale.
Collard greens are an excellent source of the three main antioxidants in foods: vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A (through its concentration of pro-vitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene). Another way in which collard greens provide antioxidant support is through their concentration of the trace mineral, manganese. In the human body, manganese functions as an enzyme activator. Just one of the vitally important enzymes manganese activates is the one that helps the body utilize vitamin C.
In addition, manganese is an integral component of an internally produced antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is found exclusively inside the mitochondria (the energy-production factories within almost all our cells), which it protects from the damaging effects of free radicals. Collard greens are also a good source of calcium. Calcium is widely recognized for its role in maintaining the strength and density of bones.
A Collard Green Smoothie
I kept the flavors in the recipe today pretty simple. The star of the smoothie was definitely the collard greens and adding pineapple and banana to the smoothie was just tasty and satisfying. While leisurely strolling through the book store, I could see on lookers wondering what my green concoction was all about and I was happy to sit and chat and talk about my green beverage.
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapples
½ cup water
1 banana (frozen if possible)
1 handful collard greens
Directions:
Blend pineapples, water and banana together first and then add collard greens. Well today was just what the doctor ordered and I can’t wait to do it again!
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