Organic Food Green

Organic food green, like it or not, needs to be daily on the menu if you want your family to be vibrant and reach a happy, ripe old-age. At this page you will learn about different vegetables like kale; and how to prepare them in a way that is very palatable.

You will also learn how to produce more than your family could ever eat. You will be giving away piles to your friends and neighbours; and save hundreds from your grocery-bill.

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 4th February, 2023.

Your greens are the richest source of folate, also known as vitamin-B9 that your body demands from conception to the grave.

Even before a young woman knows that she is pregnant, the early development of the spinal cord absolutely demands a rich supply of folate; a deficiency causes a severe neurological birth-defect called spina bifida vera.

A deficiency of folate also causes one form of anaemia; the vitamin is rich in dark-green leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach and lettuce.

The school-going child's progress and academic achievement is directly related to vitamin B9 intake; it is absolutely essential for DNA formation too. As always because of oft unknown cofactors, researchers have found that consumption of green leafy vegetables is better than folic acid from supplements.

And then in the adult, break down of toxic homocysteine from protein metabolism cannot occur without adequate levels of folate. It is a water-soluble vitamin that must be consumed daily; it cannot be stored in the body.

A build up of homocysteine is strongly associated with many serious illnesses, especially cardiovascular conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

And the elderly too require folate; a deficiency is strongly associated with senile-dementia and premature frailty^[1].

In short throughout life, we all need to eat our greens whether we like them or not.

Quite apart from the folate your greens are rich in important phytochemicals that compete with cholesterol for absorption.

They are known as phytosterols and have a very similar structure to the low-density lipoproteins; the "bad" cholesterol.

Folk routinely enjoying a lettuce salad for lunch, Eggs Florentine for breakfast and perhaps a broccoli soup for supper can often get completely off statins; they have nasty side-effects, including impotence.

Add this healthy hummus recipe to make your salad complete.

These easy spicy olives will make any green salad more palatable.

Then there is the fibre in your greens; simply adding a rich lettuce salad to your lunch will help prevent the formation of painful, bleeding piles by making the stool soft and easy to pass.

Add yet more greens like cilantro, parsley and mint; and a scoop of our own homemade authentic hummus recipe. With a slosh of olive oil and freshly-squeezed lemon juice you have the perfect lunch. Beware of commercial salad dressings that use emulsifiers so the liquids do not separate.

• What is emulsifier in food?
  

Kale and almonds salad is another great favourite at our green home.

Night leg cramps

Night leg cramps in older patients are caused by faulty electrical impulses associated with the calcium metabolism within the muscle tissue. Researchers have found that vitamin K is the solution; one third of the painful spasms and far less intense too.

Half a cup of dark-green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and parsley eaten daily will supply double that used by the researchers.

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Newsletter

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Here are the back issues.

It remains controversial whether organic food actually contains extra protein, carbs and fat; but simply because it is fresh from your own garden and has not been sprayed with toxic pesticides, it is a lot more palatable.

I have just been on a three-week trip and ate out frequently. Frankly, I am not surprised folk are not much interested in salads in restaurants or from the supermarket; I was not either. So grow your own organic food green; it is not difficult.

One of our more recent discoveries is a herb called purslane; I used to think it a weed but it is the single richest source of omega-3 in the garden. Added to a green salad it gives it a slightly sharp acidic flavour; or you can have it with any spinach dish like Eggs Florentine. Or just toss it into your soups.

Organic Food Green

There are of course hundreds of organic greens; here I review just a few of my favourites. It is best to get as wide a spread as you possibly can; each has its own virtues. What is basil, for example?

It is the eugenol oil in certain herbs that gives pesto its distinctive scent and rich flavour.

Some like it hot; how to grow chilli is high on the gardening agenda. Jalapenos and peppadews, for example, are strongly anti-inflammatory; the merit is in a phytochemical called capsaicin. It has no toxic effect on the stomach or duodenal linings according to research.

• Capsaicin health benefits
  

Growing lettuce

Good old lettuce is the foundation of almost every salad; and so easy to grow. There are dozens of varieties. I have just counted; we have some six different kinds in our summer-garden right now. They all with the possible exception of Iceberg have an important role in organic food green.

Iceberg lettuce nutritional value is far below that of its cousins; mostly it should not be in the list of organic food green.

Certainly I would not recommend using commercial Iceberg in any of your lettuce wraps recipes.

Mostly they are butter lettuce, my favourite, from our own seed; but helped with a punnet of six plants from the garden-shop.

Growing lettuce is not difficult; just sow a dozen seeds every month.

Interestingly chickens really love cos lettuce; and they will scratch the seedlings out in search of worms. They need rich compost and plenty of water because of a shallow rooting system; they are the best way to achieve high folate levels.

Here is more on the subject of the benefits of folate.

Lettuce is an important part of organic food, though I have no idea why the chickens are less interested unless there is a shortage of other greens; that concerns me a little. I trust my hens' taste for nosh. It makes a wonderful bed, for example, for our fennel and radish salad.

• Broccoli osteoarthritis

A bit untidy but I can assure you this little patch goes on bearing for at least 2 to 3 months; we just snip off a few leaves every day. Notice the purslane plant on the right by the way; the richest source of omega-3 in your garden.

Did you know that research shows that people who eat eight different coloured items every day, over a 20 year period have a 35% lower all-cause death. From the lettuce alone, we have had six today. They are a vital part of our organic green food program.

• Homocysteine cardiovascular disease
• Magnesium heart

I think most of us would concede that a plain green salad can be rather dull; adding a condiment like olive oil, freshly-squeezed lime juice and homemade hummus is our solution. The first step is to avoid the effects of lectins by soaking, rinsing and sprouting chickpeas.

There is a massive eight times mark up in the price of commercial hummus; with practice you can rustle it up in just five minutes.

Eggs Florentine

We enjoy eggs Florentine most days for breakfast; toss in a couple leaves of kale for extra lutein.

Spinach is my all time favourite organic food green; partly because it is so versatile but also as I was stooped in the Pop-Eye culture. It is so easy to grow but gets mildew in very wet weather; then we turn to kale.

How to grow spinach should be central in every person's gardening experience; it is so simple.

And the health benefits of spinach are legion; roughage, rich in potassium and calcium; and lutein to prevent age-onset blindness. 10 million Americans have lost their eyesight simply because they dislike their greens.

• Foods that lower cholesterol
• Foods to avoid high cholesterol

Knowing how onions grow will greatly enrich your eggs Florentine.

Sometimes it is scrambled eggs with a sprinkling of so-nutritious parsley, or Bernie's delicious spinach dip on toast.

It would be good on crackers too but this food snob has trained his tongue to shun them; highly-refined carbs are the cause of our obesity.

More fresh spinach recipes  can be found at this page.

Pole beans

Fresh legumes like pole beans are also an important part of organic food greens.

Pole beans are so prolific and easy to grow if you have a fence of sorts for them. Also rich in vegetable protein, they are a great way to help us reduce our reliance on red meat; too much, particularly if processed or charred, is a proven cause of malignant disease.

Learn about growing and cooking green beans.

• Green bean and lentil soup for more vegetable protein.
• Green bean succotash recipes

Corn and beans are an age-old staple, complementing each other.

Growing lima beans for real succotash is only for the larger garden; they have a long season. Nevertheless they are one of my favourite greens; and rich in vegetable protein.

There is another skill that you must learn however; they are climbers and demand a vegetable garden fence. You do not need a degree in higher mathematics to do it.

Inter-planting helps control the pesky Mexican bean beetle larvae that can devastate your crop; introducing hens to the garden though is really what cured the problem.

How to plant broad beans is another for the gardener who wants more vegetable protein in their diet. They have more than peas, limas and other legumes; in fact, 25 percent.

We have wide variety of legumes in our garden, mainly for ourselves but also for the chickens in the garden. They too need plenty of protein for all those delicious free-range eggs.

Parsley benefits

So much more than a garnish, parsley benefits include being the richest source of vitamin K. Bruise easily? Do not feed it to your kids by the way; it is a powerful aphrodisiac. Parsley pesto is a delicious way to dickie up what might appear to be an otherwise dull green salad.

Fibre, vitamins 6 and 9 and endless minerals in one package, and not in a capsule. Scrambled eggs is my favourite way to cash in on the flavour and nutritional value of parsley.

Eggs from your chicken tractor have three times as much omega-3; and less of the cholesterol that is reported to be detrimental to our hearts. In fact, our hens add a whole new dimension to our garden and organic green food; they are fed in part by the wonder of worm farms. It is all part of a process known in general as backyard permaculture; working with nature instead of against it.

Just as important they are a very rich source of choline; a deficiency causes birth defects and a host of other diseases. The average grocery store diet has less than half the recommended dietary allowance.

• Choline food sources

Combining greens, whole grains and legumes in a dish has so much merit. This tabbouleh with broad beans and kale is a gem and so easy to put together; if you have them in the garden.

Unless harvested young and enjoyed on the same day they very quickly become starchy and unpleasant; they are also known as fava beans.

Coriander

Coriander, and its green cilantro grows like a weed; literally. Toss some seeds into the ground, keep them damp and within a month you will have a daily supply of lovely organic food green to add to your salads, soups and stews.

The greens are known as cilantro or dhania; the seeds as coriander.

• Growing coriander

Arugula

Arugula, also known as rocket, is one of my favourite dark-green leafy vegetables; it is so easy to grow and less prone to fungus and heat stress in summer.

Like coriander, it is a bit of an acquired taste; just add one or two snippets to your greens or eggs Florentine until you have become accustomed to it. They both will liven up any dull iceberg lettuce and tomato salad.

Perhaps more important is the nutrition of arugula; it is rich in sulforaphane, a potent detoxifying agent of the noxious substances that we are all exposed to on a daily basis.

Olive oil

Green salads, of course, are rather dull without a dressing of sorts; the best are based on olive oil and lemon juice. Absolutely avoid the hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats and oils; they are strongly inflammatory in the body.

I particularly like an avocado fat dressing; along with the olive, they have the queen of oils. They enhance the absorption of carotenoids in our food.

Helen's 15 euro salad

Helens 15 euro salad is where my adult potty training all began; it saved me personally from a terrible constipation affliction. When I watched a colleague die from colon cancer that metastasized to the liver, I knew I had to do something.

Organic food greens are at the heart of every top notch salad. Swiss chard nutrition is an eye opener.

Eyes

It does not happen often, but I was struck dumb today; my eyes. On a routine visit for new spectacles, the optician asked: "You eat a lot of greens, not so?"

"Why, yes," said I. "How did you know?"

"I examined your eyes very carefully and it is remarkable that at 66 you do not have a sign of cataracts or macular degeneration. Do you not know about lutein?"

I knew that strawberries and omega-3 fatty acids are vital in the eye, but I had no idea just how important your organic food greens are. I decided to find out, of course. It is just one of the reasons we enjoy the health benefits of kale on a daily basis. They grow equally well in our summers and mild winters. Plant fresh seed every few months.

• Nutritional value of kale
  

Kale and spinach, and egg yolks are the richest source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids found in the eye^[4]; a deficiency causes macular degeneration in the elderly. To get maximum absorption of these phytochemicals, the organic food greens need to be thoroughly chopped and chewed and enjoyed with some form of fat.

Here are some recipes for cooking kale.

What is kale good for is a question often heard; seeing that it is near to tasteless, why should we eat it? It's one of the fallacious concepts; that we only have to eat those foods that appeal to us.

Do we only swallow medicines that appeal to us? If we are going to let your food be your medicine, is it not logical that some we eat not because they taste great, but because they are good for us?

No matter how tasteless you think kale is, if it stops you from going blind, it is surely worth a consideration; we have it every single day. I do not fancy any doctor sticking a sharp knife into my eye.

Another good reason for us to enjoy our greens like kale is its rich source of sulforaphane for diabetics that can make the difference whether one goes blind or losses a toe or not.

This kale pesto is another of our favourites.

Raw and cooked greens

There are two very strong and emphatic camps but, frankly, I am of the opinion that both raw and cooked greens is the way to go forwards.

Research at Tufts University suggests that cooking breaks down the cell walls, making the phytochemicals such as carotenoids more available, but the water-soluble vitamins and flavonoids are degraded by cooking for a long period. These are the substances that give our organic green foods the properties that help prevent neoplasms.

Your greens are also a major source of vitamin K which has an important role in transport of calcium in the body, and hence our interest as chiropractors.

Enjoy them cooked and raw, preferably daily, particularly for the eyes; lutein macular degeneration. 

Broccoli is often considered queen when it comes to cancer prevention. Planting broccoli is not rocket science, but they do take up space.

Read more about how to grow broccoli if you are interested.

We like the branching broccoli that goes on bearing for months.

More details at broccoli facts. Yes, I have a lot to say about the queen of the greens.

When you have a glut it is time to think about preserving food. If it is cabbage, then this easy homemade sauerkraut recipe is a must to help boost the probiotics.

Recipes for Swiss chard

Recipes for Swiss chard and spinach are a must for every family with young women of childbearing age; they are rich in folic acid and betaine; organic food green fodder.

Another excellent source in the prevention of serious illness in new-borns is citrus; consider for example this spina bifida and orange juice page.

The USA has enough people with spina bifida to fill a city the size of Des Moines; double the rate in other developed countries. Whether because of ignorance, or a steadfast refusal to enjoy a healthy diet every day, the price paid by Americans is enormous. Swiss chard food enjoyed regularly would change all that.

Swiss chard and spinach, after radishes, are the easiest veggies to grow in the garden and they go on producing for months, even years, making recipes for Swiss chard a joy in the kitchen. They are so quick, perfect for the busy person, and probably the best source of organic food green. 

If you have serious skin eruptions regularly, test the waters; would one of these spinach recipes be more effective that an acne body wash? This tends to be a systemic, internal problem and anything done on the surface of the skin may have at best a temporary benefit, or none at all. Think too of raised blood glucose; a diet full of refined carbohydrates is often the cause.

Soil mix

For the very best greens you need a soil mix that is rich in humus, and added manure from a local farmer is best. A handful of compost from the wormery will be the topping on the cake.

An important part of the deal for the best organic food green is to learn how to start a compost pile; and if you have lots of energy a worm farm.

Inorganic fertilisers can never replace all the minerals our plants extract from the soil.

Green journey

There is another expedition, more figurative than literal, that can be one of the most rewarding adventures you will ever make. Do not miss the tram, the green journey is about to leave from Grand Central Station.

Type "zeaxanthin macular degeneration" into Site Search in the main menu above to get more information about how to save your eyes from age-onset blindness.

A Family Affair

Are you enjoying this website? Then you will love my books. But A Family Affair is rather different; hold onto you hat. Try chapter one first; Jan Jansen.

I confess there is only one chapter on organic food green; how to make pesto. Read more at Sweet Bitter.

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Create a Cyan Zone at your home; one which complements blue areas for longevity with green for protecting Mother Earth.