Celebrate Earth Day with health-boosting recipes

Earth Day is coming up on April 22, as good a day as any to begin increasing consumption of foods that can improve people’s health, as well as the planet’s.

Green or eco-friendly foods naturally include leafy greens, such as kale, collard greens, mustard greens and spinach. Greens are very high in cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, they are full of fiber, they contain various vitamins and minerals, and they are also fairly high in protein, said Jean Myers, Food for Life cooking instructor with The Cancer Project.

In fact, kale, collard greens and mustard greens are ranked at the top of anti-oxidant scales, Myers said. And while organic produce supports a healthier environment, greens and other produce do not necessarily have to be organic to provide health benefits, she said.

“What I tell people in my classes is if you can find organic, it’s great to buy them because it supports a healthier environment. We don’t get the pesticide runoff into the rivers and streams that then go into the ocean and kill the fish. You don’t have workers out in the fields having to be exposed to these things all day long. You also don’t eat that many pesticides, and that’s better for your health.”

But if organic produce is not available, people should still consume plenty of non-organic produce because the health benefits far outweigh the pesticide risk, she said.

Although greens have known health benefits, many people do not know what to do with them, and therefore do not consume enough, she said.

But she has several suggestions. One is to chop up greens and add them to canned, boxed, or fresh soups and stews for just the last five or so minutes of cooking.

Another is to add chopped greens to fruit smoothies. For example, raw spinach added to a smoothie she makes with banana, pineapple, orange, blueberry, strawberry, and juice is neither detectable by taste nor color, she said.

Her third suggestion is to use greens in other recipes, such as the one included with this article.

To learn which produce is highest and lowest in pesticides, she recommends visiting FoodNews.org, where a printable list of the “The Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15” can be printed and carried to the grocery store.

Kale with Cashew Cream Sauce (pictured)
Serves: 3
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
1 large bunch of kale
1 / 2 cup raw cashews
1 / 2 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 / 2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 / 2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash – original blend
Optional: 1 15 oz. can low or no-salt cannellini beans, drained

Start water boiling in steamer pot. Wash kale. Remove kale stems and slice leaves in half- inch strips. Steam kale for about eight minutes in a steamer pot with lid.

Meanwhile, blend all other ingredients except the beans in a blender or Vitamix unit until smooth. Drain beans and place in a large microwave-safe casserole dish. Stir in the cashew cream sauce and heat for 1 to 2 minutes until warm. When kale is done, remove from steamer and add to casserole dish. Mix well and serve. This recipe is good with or without the beans, but acts as a heartier main dish with the beans.

Fantastic Fruit Smoothie
Serves two to three
1 orange, peeled, or 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 / 4 fresh pineapple, peeled, or 8 oz. pineapple chunks with juice
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup frozen blueberries
6 to 8 frozen strawberries
4 to 8 ounces pomegranate juice or other fruit juice
Baby spinach, kale, bok choy or other greens to fill blender
Ice cold water, as needed
Optional: 3 ounces Morinu tofu

Place all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Adjust amount of fruit and proportion of liquid to suit your blender. This recipe works well in a Vitamix or Blend-Tech blender, but you can adjust recipe ingredients to suit your taste and blender.
-Recipe by Jean Myers