Day is 13 of our thread on~HOW TO EAT SIMPLY TO IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL HEALTH & BUILD RESPONSIVE IMMUNITY~Today's vegetable dish is Jennifer's Simple Sauteed Greens.
This is a series to follow up Cary's previous posts on COVID-19: Tips for Self-Care and Redirecting Fear. I've been doing a daily post for the past 12 days highlighting VERY SIMPLE veggie recipes in this series so that you will be inspired to focus your self-care towards that which is positive, uplifting, and easy to manage.
In this thread, I'm sharing recipes from several of my Ayurvedic patients and close students, who have been trying to honor the rhythms of nature and have been practicing Meditation with me over the years. They have been learning to live simply and in harmony with nature's laws. As a result, their health has become stronger and their minds are more peaceful, joyful and positive. Please enjoy their wonderful offerings~all are posted in our Website blog.
Today's feature is a simple but powerful staple for our diet. Dark greens are bitter in taste and a powerful medicine for the liver. I regularly prescribe a daily dose of leafy greens to my patients because they’re good for your skin, hair, and for removing amavisha (toxic wastes) from the body. Dark leafy greens are full of nutrients-they are excellent sources of antioxidant vitamins A and C, and they also provide vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin K, iron, calcium, magnesium, and fiber. They are an easily digestible source of iron that will not make you constipated (iron supplements will do that). In fact, due to their natural fiber, they will support you to have a healthy bowel movement each day, especially with the inclusion of the Olive Oil or Ghee. We all should be having at least 1 or 2 bowel movements daily-otherwise 'Ama', toxins sit in our bowel and begin to re-absorb into our bloodstream and circulate, only to settle into other areas of the body eventually causing dis-ease to arise.
Try to use whatever green is most in season at that time and when the greens are in full bloom, try to rotate them in your diet so you can receive the gifts that each one has to offer. Please note that dark leafy greens are to be lightly cooked, steamed or taken in soups-not eaten raw. It's best not to juice greens. Fresh dark leafy greens contain a lot of marut, or air energy, and if consumed raw over a consistant period of time will imbalance your Lung~Vata dosha.
Jennifer's Simple Sauteed Greens:
1 bunch Organic Dark Leafy Greens (spinach, kale, chard, collards, arugula)
1 TB Olive Oil or Organic Cultured Ghee
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
4 finger pinch Coriander powder
3 finger pinch Cumin powder
2 finger pinch Ajwain
Himalayan Salt to taste
Wash your greens and tear into bite-sized pieces-baby spinach is the easiest and quickest cooking in just 2-3 minutes. If using kale, collards, or chard, then you can chop the stems into 1/4 inch pieces and keep them separate from the leaves because you will add them first.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil or ghee in a pan. Add your spices and toast until aroma is released-be careful not to burn them!
If using the stems, put them into the heated oil in the pan and stir occasionally for a few minutes until they start to soften. Then add your leaves and continue mixing.
Watch for the greens to wilt and soften. I like to use metal tongs to turn the greens in the pan.
Remove from the heat when they are bright green and soft.
You could also add water to steam them more or more oil toward the end to make your kale a bit crispy.
Toast 1-2 tsp of sesame seeds in a dry pan for a couple minutes and put them on top. Squeezing fresh lime juice over the top.
Sprinkle with salt to taste. Yummy!
We hope that you enjoy Jennifer's Simple Sautéed Greens Dish!
Please feel free to share this post on your page too, so that many people can benefit~
With Love & Blessings for Radiant Health~ Cary Twomey, D. Ayur 🌿
Robust & radiant! Jennifer and Violet in one of their favorite places, perched up in a tree at Holmes Lake~
