Meatless Mondays: Lettuces and Salad Greens
Every Monday, I’ll highlight a nutritious way to incorporate more plants into your diet. For my first Meatless Monday, I’ll start with the very epitome of diet food: lettuce.
There’s a reason that salads are the stereotypical diet food: lettuces and salad greens are low in fat, protein, and sodium but high in fiber and nutrients. This doesn’t mean that only waist-watchers should be enjoying salads. Eating a salad can be an easy way to reach your recommend 3 cups of veggies per day.
Most people think that only orange foods are high in vitamin A, but lettuces can be a good to excellent source of this nutrient. The yellow carotenes (vitamin A precursors) are simply hidden under the green chlorophyll. The darker the leaf, the higher the vitamin A content. 100 grams (about 2-3 cups raw) of most lettuces will supply almost a day’s worth of vitamin A (necessary for cell division in the body) and vitamin K (helps your blood to clot when you are injured) as well as nearly a quarter of your vitamin C (anti-oxidant, scurvy-preventor) and folate (prevents neural tube defects). If you are taking blood thinners such as coumadin, talk to your doctor or registered dietitian before you go on a greens-eating binge. The lettuces’ high vitamin K content can interfere with how the blood thinners work, so it’s important to let your medical team know if you’ll be eating more greens than you usually do.
To help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A and K, dress your salads with a bit of oil. This is a great use of the fancy extra-virgin olive oils so prevalent today. You can also gently and quickly saute or stir-fry the greens with a bit of oil or butter. Gently cooked greens can be a great addition to fritattas, stratas, omelettes, meatloafs, or hamburgers. You can also enhance the nutrition and beauty of pasta dishes by tossing just drained pasta with washed greens torn into small pieces. The heat from the pasta will gently wilt the greens. Some of the sturdier greens such as radicchio and bok choy can also be grilled, which creates a smoky yet delicate flavor. Slice the heads in half, toss with a bit of oil and seasonings, then grill for just a few minutes until the vegetables take on some color. Grilled greens make an interesting salad or slaw when drizzled with some vinaigrette.
Do you have a favorite salad recipe to share? Do you use lettuces in things besides salads?