It is a gorgeous summer day here in Portland, Oregon. I hope you are having a beautiful day wherever you are as well.
It’s also my 3 year wedding anniversary! July 7th, 2007 I got married on a perfect summer day in West Virginia. Marriage has been really fun and I am thrilled with how our relationship has grown even stronger and deeper as a married couple. Tate and I are going to spend the day together. I think we’ll go swimming at the river with some friends (it’s predicted to get up to 90 degrees today!) and maybe picnic at a park concert tonight.
I have a few additions to my July Goals
- Exercise Everyday at least a wee bit. A walk, arms/abs, yoga, some bit of focused exercise.
- Record Exercise
Recovery is SLOW and while “normally” I would have much more ambitious workout goals I need to be really easy on my body right now. I walk slow and get tired fast. Today might be the day to start arms/abs again but it will be majorly modified as I rebuild strength.
I have been eating my greens! This challenge has made me realize how often I only eat one serving or less of greens. Yesterday I had a salad for lunch but by dinner didn’t see any more greens in my future and had to whip up a juice of carrots, beets, ginger, kale, and spinach to get them in.
Here are a few reasons why I am focusing on eating plenty of greens right now
- KALE is very high fiber, especially for a green. Kale is an excellent source of nutrients, most notably vitamin A and calcium but also decent amounts of vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin B6, manganese, and potassium. Kale also has powerful antioxidants that help prevent cancer.
- SPINACH is an excellent source of antioxidants in the form of beta-carotene. Raw spinach is high in vitamin C. Spinach is high in lutein, which is outstanding for cancer prevention. To get the most nutritional bang for your buck with spinach, alternate eating it raw and cooked.
- CHARD is very high in vitamins A, C, and E as well as calcium and potassium. Like all greens it is a fantastic source of dietary fiber.
- LETTUCE skip the iceberg and head straight for the romaine. The darker green the lettuce to better. All lettuce provides chlorophyll and vitamin K but romaine is also full of vitamins A, B1, C, folic acid, manganese, and chromium.
These are the four greens that I am eating right now (because they are the ones growing in my sis’s garden!). All greens are low in calories and high in fiber. Greens are very versatile and so I encourage you to give them another shot if you don’t like them at first. One way to adjust to the earthiness of greens is to chop them up very fine and add to stir-fry or pasta sauce. All of the greens listed above can be eaten either raw or cooked.
Do you have a favorite green I left off my list?
Time to go for a walk, my big exercise of the day! Slow and steady wins the recovery race…
Let’s add the oriental greens including bok choi, tai sai, chinese cabbage and their kin; arugula, sorrel, and collards. Another place to add greens is in scrambled eggs (or tofu) for a hearty breaksfast or later. Sadie suggested kale chips, a light bit of oil on dry kale baked until crisp.
Thanks Papa!
After China I needed a little break from all things Asian, including the greens! I love arugula though and had an awesome salad with some a few days ago. Getting some greens in with breakfast is great, I have been juicing with kale and spinach lately.
I have heard a lot about kale chips lately and look forward to trying them sometime soon.