5 ways to get greens in your diet every day

St. Patrick's Day shouldn't be the only day that we incorporate more green in our lives!  Green foods (I'm talking about the color here) are some of the highest in antioxidants and nutrients out there!  Rich in everything from protein to Folic Acid to Calcium, we should all try to eat something green at least once daily.   As part of my "Spring Cleaning & Greening" series, here are 5 tips to help you get your green on:

 1.  Get it over with at breakfast:  Add broccoli or another green to your eggs or smoothie.  Remember, frozen vegetables are a great option!

image via two eat philly

2.  Change it up: Try something new, local, and seasonal when possible!  Visit field to plate for a list of seasonal produce in your area.  Currently in Illinois, there isn't much available, but in surrounding areas, greens, lettuce and asparagus are and they're on their way to us!

3.  Keep it simple: Eat a salad with dinner every night.  My grandparents ALWAYS had a simple greens, onion, tomato and cucumber salad with red wine vinegar and olive oil every night.  A small salad helps up your veggie intake and cuts your total calories for the day as people tend to eat less at dinner if they have a light salad first. 

image via lotiseement

4.  Dive for it: Try dried sea vegetables (seaweed) like Wakame thrown into chicken broth with carrots, mushrooms and a few tablespoons of miso paste.  Sea vegetables are potent anti-aging antioxidants and are high in B vitamins like folic acid and have the broadest range of minerals of any known food (especially iodine and magnesium).

image via mighty leaf

5.  Just drink it:  Green tea, especially Matcha green tea is a potent antioxidant and potential weight regulator.  Matcha is a powder that can be mixed with hot or cold water and enjoyed easily anywhere!

FYI, Whole Foods posts ANDI Scores around their stores.  These are essentially a list of the most micronutrient (vitamins/minerals/antioxidants) dense foods per calorie.  While this is by no means meant to be a complete list of everything that's healthy or necessary in our diets, it's interesting to note that the top 10 foods are in fact GREEN: Collard/Mustard/Turnip Greens, Kale, Watercress, Bok Choy, Spinach, Broccoli Rabe, Chinese/Napa Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Swiss Chard and Arugula!