AN APPLE A DAY - THE THIRD HEALTHIEST VEGETABLE ON EARTH

Day 110 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

THE THIRD HEALTHIEST VEGETABLE ON EARTH

Are you enjoying the healthy lifestyle tips we have been discussing on this blog?  I hope these simple little discoveries are as much a blessing to you as they have been to me.  Learning about healthier eating has definitely been something that I’ve needed to do for a long time.  I did not understand, until I dove further into the details, how much I had been missing in the quality of life you experience simply from good nutrition. 

Remember though; it is just as important to maintain balance on health issues, as it is in any other part of your life.  You can take ANYTHING to an extreme level, even health.  That is not our desire here.  Diets need to be well balanced, and lifestyles need to be well balanced.  Do not become so rigid with these dietary changes, or so very legalistic that you don’t remember how to have and enjoy a happy feast day at least once a week.  Do not become so prudish with these great facts about eating healthy that you condemn and judge others because of your new found awareness.   Allow yourself a break every now and then; you have earned the ability to be flexible.  It is okay to not be absolutely perfect in your diet all the time; just try to be adequately aware most of the time.  

Just always remember the basics of a balanced and godly life; and you can’t go wrong.  That thought always brings me back to the words Jesus uttered to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faithfulness.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”  There will be times in life when, for one reason or another, you can't be so picky; you will simply need to be grateful for whatever God has placed before you and enjoy your meal.  

These are the words of Jesus!  Pay attention that you do not get off balance and become a food Pharisee always keeping your rigid rules and looking down your nose at others.  Just be careful not to make food your idol so that it causes you to become so wrapped up in it and so consumed that you are totally obsessed with it and nothing else in life!  Don’t let the food thoughts and the constant focus on health bog you down into so many foggy details that you forget your time alone with God, and your quality time with your family members and loved ones.  If they are enjoying this journey with you, by all means use it as a way to love and serve them too.  Prepare special meals and set aside special times to feast with them!  That is a wonderful thing when kept in the proper balance of your days.

If all of the preparation and shopping and studying the ins and outs of nutrition are keeping you from doing what it takes to stay faithful, to be thinking of others, and to carry on your daily work routines; then it might be time to cut down on some of the extremes and only do a little at a time until it slowly becomes as natural a routine as brushing your teeth.  Rome wasn’t built in a day; so don’t overdo the food part of life.  Let it be natural.  Let it all sink in slowly.  Share what you have with others and let the abundance God has brought to your table be of benefit to others living in the kingdom too.  

Always remember justice, mercy and faithfulness above all other things in life.  They are more important than the food you eat; and they are of vital importance to the whole, overall health of our planet!  These three elements as daily life priorities are as much a key to good health as the foods we consume.  

Stay focused on the big things and let the food thoughts, planning and preparation be one of the smaller, more routine things.   Keep Philippians 4:6-7 ever in the front of your mind as you go along through your day.  Use these words to keep any stress in this matter of buying, preparing and serving healthy foods in balance;  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 In other words; do not stress over food!  Approach the matter with calm peace and gentle patience as you learn each new recipe and food task and then put it into common practice in your home.  Share and invite others to help, include the other members of your house in the educational experience, the preparation and the shopping.  Please do not make meal preparation an unbearable dreadful chore.  The family that cooks together; stays together! 

Eat to live; do not live to eat!  Keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible.  Food is a necessity; not an idol.  Remember to serve it with love and to thank God for every bite!

 

Now that we have cleared that matter up; just keep adding a few new thoughts here and there until it all flows together in a more natural way and in complete balance and a peaceful, healthy, harmony.  Reading these articles should help.  It will save time on doing the homework because I’ve done it all for you!  Hopefully these short articles will give you small easy steps to implement those little things which will create big changes in the end, without a lot of extra fuss, effort or work.

Today we will be considering the third most healthy vegetable you can put into your body;  and that vegetable would be …….CHARD!

Are you familiar with chard? 

Maybe you have used it for years at your table, but just like all of the other nutritious things we have discussed so far; I did not even have chard on my grocery list!  I’m also ashamed to say I did not even know what to do with this pretty and interesting looking vegetable! 

I wondered what made chard the third healthiest vegetable I could eat; so I researched and found the following facts:

1)  Chard contains a high amount of phytonutrients which provide antioxidents that fight inflammation and help to regulate blood sugar problems. 

2)  One of chards flavonoids is syringic acid which helps to inhibit an enzyme which breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars.  This helps to stabilize blood sugar levels in the body.

3)  Chard is a great source of fiber.

4)  Chard is a great source of protein.  Protein helps to regulate the speed of digestion.

5)  Chard has been recognized as having the ability to help pancreatic cells to regenerate.  This is helpful to the body in creating insulin and it is also helpful in protecting the liver from damage.

6)  Chard is full of healthy vitamins including C,E,A and K.

7) Chard contains the minerals of manganese, zinc, calcium, iron and magnesium.  These minerals help to fight obesity, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis.  The calcium and magnesium help to support strong healthy bones.  The iron gives your body more energy.

8)  Chard contains potassium which is good for the health of your heart.

If you are very conscious of the fact that everything you put into your body is going into your own private temple where God’s Holy Spirit dwells; you can feel very safe in consuming chard.  It is very healthy and amazing in every way.  It is a good food source for your body.

August is a good month to introduce yourself to chard; because it is freshly harvested from June to August every year.  You may find it displayed in the produce aisles of grocery stores under the labels of “Swiss chard,” “white beet,” “strawberry spinach,” “seakale beet,” "leaf beet," "Sicilian beet," "spinach beet," "Chillian beet, "Roman kale," and "silverbeet."  Don't let the word "Swiss" throw you off; it is actually a vegetable that is native to the Mediterranian regions of the world.  The Greeks and Romans first made chard famous by using it for medicine way before we ever had any big pharmaceutical companies to tell us what medications to use.  

So when you are browsing through the supermarket looking for chard, search for a green leafy vegetable with reddish purple stalks.  A few varieties of chard also have yellow or white stalks.   It should be kept chilled and not be in an unchilled part of the store.  This chilling makes the taste of the chard stay sweeter and crunchier.   Make sure all the leaves are a bright healthy green color with no brown or yellow.  Make sure the stalks of the chard are crisp and unblimished.  

Once purchased, place your unwashed chard in an airtight plastic wraper and keep refrigerated until time for cooking.  Wash the chard just before using; as water tends to add to a wilting effect, and wilting makes the already bitter taste even more bitter.  

Chard can be stored in the refrigerator for about five days.  Unlike a lot of other vegetables, the stems of chard are actually NOT good for eating.  Just tear the stems off the leaves right before washing when you are preparing to cook.  

In preparing chard to eat; it is better to boil the chard in an uncovered pot of water in order to release the acids into the boiling water.  This will help the chard to taste sweeter.  When you have boiled the chard for about three minutes, remove it from the water and press out any extra liquid with a fork.  Discard the water and do not use it as stock.  Place the cooked chard into a bowl and toss with some minced garlic, some lemon juice, some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Chopped Kalamata olives are good to add to this mix along with some crumbled feta cheese and one teaspoon of soy sauce.  Easy, simple, and actually quite delicious!  

I will probably be sharing more chard recipes in this blog as I test and add to my collection.

Chard has a slightly bitter taste on it's own and it also taste slightly salty.  Combined with the simple ingredients listed above and cooked appropriately, it can be a delicious side dish for any meal.   

If you have any good spinach recipes, you can substitute chard instead of spinach and have a refreshing change of pace.  Chard and spinach seem to be very interchangable in most recipes.

You can toss cooked chard with pasta, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for a great pasta salad combination.  Chard also taste good in an omlet, and I've enjoyed it with vegetarian lasagna recipes too.

There is only one precaution with regard to chard.  Do not eat if you are prone to kidney stones.  The acid in the chard seems to aid in producing the calcium that builds up to make kidney stones.   Otherwise; it is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet and it will give you lots of iron and over 300 percent of the normal vitamins you need for a day.