How To Use Swiss Chard In Green Smoothies
Drinking green smoothies for breakfast, lunch or dinner is the best decision one make if you want to live a happier, healthier life.
While this fact is an undeniable one, many green smoothie aficionados find themselves grappling with another more serious problem - shortage of smoothie recipes rather how to combine the not so-palatable leafy vegetables with other fruits and ingredients to form delicious drinks.
There is a variety of leafy greens one can use in their health drinks.
The range includes kale, chard, collard, spinach and lettuce.
If you're looking to experiment with Swiss chard, you're in luck.
This article discusses how to use this healthful and nutritious veggie in smoothies.
A Little about Swiss chard A tall and broad-leaved vegetable, Swiss chard is a commonly used ingredient in Mediterranean cooking.
This is one of the varieties of chard.
It has thick, crinkly leaves that are dark green in color.
The stems are its most striking feature.
The stalks are colored in the bright colors of the rainbow namely white, pink, red, orange and yellow.
The leaves are ribbed; they have the same color as the stem.
Swiss chard is known by various other names such as silver beet, crab beet, spinach beet and mangold.
Swiss chard can be eaten raw as in salads, can be cooked and juiced or blended as in the case of smoothies.
It is usually sautéed and tossed in butter, salt, spices and seasoning to get rid of bitter-bland taste.
The taste is close to spinach only a little mild.
If you plan to use it to make a smoothie, you needn't worry as there are several other vegetable and fruits that pair well it and mask its unpleasant taste.
We've added a few tasty recipes below.
How to use Swiss chard in a Green Smoothie Fruits such as pineapple, oranges, bananas, apples and pears are good enough to mask the bland taste of this green leafy vegetable.
Given are two recipes.
1.
Swiss Chard and Blackberry Smoothie Vitamin C in blackberries helps your body squeeze out iron from leafy greens to its maximum limit.
You will need ½ head of Swiss chard, 1 apple (chopped), ½ a cup of green grapes, 1 cup of frozen blackberries, ½ a banana, ice cubes and ½ a cup of water (you can add more based on the consistency you prefer).
2.
Fruity Punch We call it a fruity punch because it includes a good number of fruits.
You will need 2 cups of Swiss chard (de-stemmed and chopped), 3 ripe bananas, I green apple (diced), half of a grapefruit (you can add a whole if you want), 1 cup of white cranberry juice (optional, you can add water instead) and ice.
Blend till you get a creamy drink.
Storing Swiss chard Swiss chard like many other leafy greens has a very short span.
It perishes very soon and hence needs to be stored well, in the right environment and at an appropriate temperature to prevent it from wilting.
As far as possible, purchase leaves only when needed or use immediately after harvesting.
If you intend to store it, refrigerate it.
Store it in a properly ventilated plastic bag.
You can poke holes to provide ventilation.
Do not wash the leaves before storing.
If you want fresh, green and tender chard for your smoothies, you can plant the vegetable in your garden, should you have space.
It is easy to plant and does not demand a lot of care and maintenance.
A small note - Persons suffering recurrent kidney stones and those using medications to thin the blood, should limit their intake of Swiss chard whether it is consumed as a salad or a smoothie.
While this fact is an undeniable one, many green smoothie aficionados find themselves grappling with another more serious problem - shortage of smoothie recipes rather how to combine the not so-palatable leafy vegetables with other fruits and ingredients to form delicious drinks.
There is a variety of leafy greens one can use in their health drinks.
The range includes kale, chard, collard, spinach and lettuce.
If you're looking to experiment with Swiss chard, you're in luck.
This article discusses how to use this healthful and nutritious veggie in smoothies.
A Little about Swiss chard A tall and broad-leaved vegetable, Swiss chard is a commonly used ingredient in Mediterranean cooking.
This is one of the varieties of chard.
It has thick, crinkly leaves that are dark green in color.
The stems are its most striking feature.
The stalks are colored in the bright colors of the rainbow namely white, pink, red, orange and yellow.
The leaves are ribbed; they have the same color as the stem.
Swiss chard is known by various other names such as silver beet, crab beet, spinach beet and mangold.
Swiss chard can be eaten raw as in salads, can be cooked and juiced or blended as in the case of smoothies.
It is usually sautéed and tossed in butter, salt, spices and seasoning to get rid of bitter-bland taste.
The taste is close to spinach only a little mild.
If you plan to use it to make a smoothie, you needn't worry as there are several other vegetable and fruits that pair well it and mask its unpleasant taste.
We've added a few tasty recipes below.
How to use Swiss chard in a Green Smoothie Fruits such as pineapple, oranges, bananas, apples and pears are good enough to mask the bland taste of this green leafy vegetable.
Given are two recipes.
1.
Swiss Chard and Blackberry Smoothie Vitamin C in blackberries helps your body squeeze out iron from leafy greens to its maximum limit.
You will need ½ head of Swiss chard, 1 apple (chopped), ½ a cup of green grapes, 1 cup of frozen blackberries, ½ a banana, ice cubes and ½ a cup of water (you can add more based on the consistency you prefer).
2.
Fruity Punch We call it a fruity punch because it includes a good number of fruits.
You will need 2 cups of Swiss chard (de-stemmed and chopped), 3 ripe bananas, I green apple (diced), half of a grapefruit (you can add a whole if you want), 1 cup of white cranberry juice (optional, you can add water instead) and ice.
Blend till you get a creamy drink.
Storing Swiss chard Swiss chard like many other leafy greens has a very short span.
It perishes very soon and hence needs to be stored well, in the right environment and at an appropriate temperature to prevent it from wilting.
As far as possible, purchase leaves only when needed or use immediately after harvesting.
If you intend to store it, refrigerate it.
Store it in a properly ventilated plastic bag.
You can poke holes to provide ventilation.
Do not wash the leaves before storing.
If you want fresh, green and tender chard for your smoothies, you can plant the vegetable in your garden, should you have space.
It is easy to plant and does not demand a lot of care and maintenance.
A small note - Persons suffering recurrent kidney stones and those using medications to thin the blood, should limit their intake of Swiss chard whether it is consumed as a salad or a smoothie.
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