We always suspected Mum was right when she warned us as kids to eat up our greens but when your a 12 year old boy, it's hard not to have some pet hates. Fortunately Mum was serious about good food and so when it came to compromise I was prepared to eat anything rather than have to stay indoors and help wash up after dinner!
This is an amazingly healthy family dish. It contains five greens which are suspected to be exceedingly beneficial to health.
Raw Brocolli
Brocolli contains sulforaphane. This boosts levels of “phase 2 enzymes”, which mop up potential carcinogens and pollutants and cart them out of our bodies via urine and stools. Broccoli has a supernutrient called indole-3-carbinol, believed to help balance oestrogen levels. It also contains vitamin C for boosting immunity. Sulforaphane may also help to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease.
Kale
Gram for gram, kale comes out top for both vitamin K and the yellow pigment called lutein. Vitamin K is known to be important for building strong bones. Lutein appears to help to prevent age-related blindness by reducing sun damage to part of the eye’s retina called the macula lutea.
Watercress
Watercress contains phenethyl isothiocyanate, which appears to combat cancer-causing substances in tobacco smoke. One study has shown that eating an 80g serving daily reduces levels of damage to DNA in blood cells. DNA damage is considered to be important in the development of cancer.
Spinach
Spinach has 12.6mg of lutein per 100g serving, which, while less than kale’s 21.9mg, is significant, especially since many find spinach more readily available and appealing to eat. Spinach also has glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid, two supernutrients believed to help to detox pollutants and protect the liver.
Cabbage
Probably the least glamorous of greens,cabbage is great for vitamin C, even when cooked. An average serving of summer cabbage gives us half our daily target. Being a cruciferous vegetable, it supplies some sulforaphane and gives us the supernutrient known as quercetin, which has been shown to help to fight viruses such as herpes simplex.
So here is a basic crunchy green salad dish for your table which will ensure you and your family get some of the best protection nature has to offer. Don't overcook vegetables and always source an organic supplier or better still grow your own!
This is a very flexible dish as you can add diced red or yellow peppers and radishes and small cauliflower florets to decorate.
Serves 10
Ingredients:
50g cabbage (thinly sliced)
50g brocolli
50g kale (thinly sliced and steamed for 1 minute)
50g spinach
50g courgettes
50g green beans (steamed for 3 minutes)
50g watercress
2 sticks celery (thinly sliced)
2 green peppers
2 carrots (julienne slices)
For the dressing
200ml soured cream
1 tsp of white wine vinegar
4 tsp of roquefort cheese
salt & pepper
Method
Slice the green cabbage very thinly, discarding any core. Wash , strain and place in a large bowl. Divide the brocolli into florets, cutting away the course stalks and slicing down the thin stalks and heads. Add to bowl. Allow the kale and green beans to cool and add along with the fresh spinach leaves and watercress. Top and tail the courgettes and slice as thinly as possible. Add to bowl. Cut the green peppers into halves or quarters, removing core and seeds. Slice very thinly and add to the bowl along with the celery and carrots.
For the dressing
Blend the sour cream, vinegar, salt and pepper in a food processor. Stir in the cheese. Pour over the vegetables and toss well. Allow to marinate for one hour before serving.
