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In our celebration of dark, leafy greens so far, I've tried to sway you toward eating more kale, chard, and spinach. If you're looking for optimum nutritional value and culinary possibilities, I'd consider those to be the three leafy-green superstars. However, every type of leafy green vegetable has health benefits, and I'm finishing up this series on Eat Your Greens with four more lovely varieties of greens you certainly should learn to love. Ladies and gentlemen, turn on your stoves and get ready for our final four leafy greens: arugula, bok choy, collard greens, and napa cabbage.
Some of you may notice that I'm purposely slighting regular old green cabbage here, even though it's loaded with nutrients and is wonderfully versatile in recipes. Truthfully, cabbage is probably my very favorite leafy green, but I'm hoping to inspire you to try new greens you may not be that familiar with. If you love cabbage like I do, keep eating it, but try some of these others as well.
Arugula
Photo of Roasted Purple Cauliflowe and Arugula Salad
from Food Blogga
Arugula is actually a dark green herb which is used as greens, and the leaves look like a slightly more interesting version of spinach. In Europe, this green is called rocket or rucola, and it's an early spring green for the garden. The taste of arugula is pretty distinctive, with a slightly peppery flavor, and if the greens aren't picked early enough they can be bitter and even unpleasantly hot tasting. Baby arugula leaves are a staple in many refrigerators, since they can be used in endless varieties of green salads, like the Roasted Purple Cauliflower and Arugula Salad (pictured above) from Food Blogga, or Roasted Pear and Arugula Salad from Leite's Culinaria. Arugula is also used in less traditional salads, such as the Arugula and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad from Powered by Tofu. Another great way to eat arugula is in recipes where lightly wilted arugula is added to pasta, like the Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Pepper from Simply Recipes or Cherry Tomato, Garlic, Arugula, and Feta Cheese Pasta Sauce from Chez Loulou.
Bok Choy
Photo of Baby Bok Choy
from Not Eating Out in New York
Bok choy is an Asian vegetable, often used in stir-fries or simply sauteed as a side dish. Baby bok choy is especially good, but there are a number of similar tasting greens with similar names, all of which can be used pretty much interchangeably in recipes. Although it looks unsual, the flavor of bok choy is really quite mild, but if you've never cooked it before you might want to start with something simple like Stir-Fried Bok Choy from Daily Unadventures in Cooking. Bok choy is great used in Asian soups, like the Simple Noodle Soup with Baby Bok Choy from Not Eating Out in New York or Spicy Shrimp and Bok Choy Soup from Two Peas and Their Pod. Bok choy can also shine when it's simply prepared in a way that keeps it still slightly crisp, so I loved the sound of Grilled Baby Bok Choy with Dipping Sauce from PhooD.
Collard Greens
Photo of Pasta with Sausage and Collard Greens
from Erin Cooks
Collard greens are another one of the milder-flavored varieties of greens, and they're perhaps most famous as something to eat for good luck on New Year's Eve, like the Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas from Cheap Healthy Good. Collards are so naturally flavorful that they are perfect for a simple preparation like the Slow Cooked Vegan Collard Greens from Wasabimon or Collard Greens with Spaghetti from Modern Beet. I liked collard greens immediately when I tried them a few years ago, but one of my favorite ways to use them is in soup, and love the sound of Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Green Ribbons from I Am Gluten Free or Mexican Chicken Soup with Greens from Nourishing Days. Another way to use these slightly sweet greens is in a dish like Collard Greens Pie from Poor Girl Gourmet, a recipe that had me drooling when I read the list of ingredients.
Napa Cabbage
Photo of Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage
from Rasa Malaysia
If you're not familiar with Napa cabbage, Healthy Happy Life has a
