Green Super Foods for St. Patrick’s Day

Many of us choose to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, sporting our favorite green shirts or drinking our artificially- green-colored beer. In the spirit of the Irish, we are celebrating this year by nourishing our bodies with green super foods packed with our own version of lucky charms: vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! If you’re looking to detox post St. Patty’s day partying, these green super foods are the perfect way to start and finish your weekend.

Spinach

Spinach is packed with vitamins and health boosting qualities. This classic leafy green is filled with antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamin C which both have cancer-preventing properties. Spinach is also a great source of vitamin K and iron (especially for any vegetarians). Incorporate more spinach into your meals by adding fresh spinach to your salads and omelets, or sautéing it for a healthy side-dish.

Swiss Chard

This leafy green vegetable is not only delicious when steamed or sautéed, but the roots can add a colorful and flavorful component to any dish. Swiss Chard is packed with fiber, protein, potassium, iron, vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and K! With so many nutritional benefits and different ways to cook it, swiss chard should be added to your shopping list this season.

Peas

Peas are a great vegetable to enhance the nutritional value of any snack or meal. These tiny green vegetables are packed with antioxidants, fiber, protein and anti-inflammatory properties. Best of all, you can buy them fresh when they are in season, or frozen year- round to make a simple side dish to any meal.

Pistachios

Where do we start with this delicious snack? We go nuts for pistachios because they are low in calorie and high in fiber, that keeps you full for longer. Pistachios contain protein, healthy unsaturated fat, and they have also been shown to lower our bad LDL cholesterol. Best of all, their shell with slow you down from eating too much too quickly.

Kiwi

Kiwis are a delicious and colorful way to add nutrients to your diet. Not only are they low in calories, but per serving they contain more potassium than bananas and more calcium than oranges. The fiber in these tart fruits makes them one of our favorite (green) super foods.

Kale

These green leaves are packed with cancer- preventing, and health- enhancing qualities like protein, fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Kale can be eaten raw in salads or smoothies, cooked in soups, or baked into crispy kale chips. No matter how you choose to consume this leafy vegetable, you will be happy you made it part of your diet.

Parsley

Parsley is much more than a garnish these days. This herb is densely packed with antioxidants, iron and magnesium. Make parsley a star in your meals by adding some freshness to salsas, salads, and soups.

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