4 Ways to Eat more Greens

We've all heard it before: Eat your veggies! Yet still, most of us don't.

Find out why greens are important for your health + 4 Simple ways to eat more greens (Hold the 🥗!)

It’s not easy going green — or eating greens for that matter.

We've all heard it before- eat your veggies, but we don't. In fact, over 71% of Canadians don't eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables - leafy greens or otherwise, everyday.

So if we know we should eat them, why is it so hard!? Unfortunately, we live in a society where we're bombarded with mouth watering but unhealthy and highly processed foods. The good news is there are easy steps you can take to increase your intake of greens — and it doesn’t require you to eat salads all day!

Green vegetables, and particularly leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, lettuce, chard and arugula, are some of the healthiest vegetables around. And multiple studies have shown that a diet rich in leafy greens can be super beneficial to your health and wellbeing.

Leafy Greens May Cut Diabetes Risk

Did you know one of the best ways to treat and prevent type 2 diabetes is through diet?

Leafy greens are low in digestible carbs and have a low glycemic load, which is good for those with type 2 diabetes.

A study published in the British Medical Journal concluded that "eating 1½ extra servings of leafy green vegetables a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 14%."

Leafy Greens are good for your heart 🧡

Want to show your heart some love? Eat leafy green vegetables!

Because they’re rich in vitamin K, leafy greens help protect the arteries. They’re also high in dietary nitrates, which is converted into nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is made in the lining of the arteries, also known as the endothelium. Nitric oxide (or NO) helps the arteries relax, keeps blood pressure normal, prevents blood clotting, and resists the production of plaque in the arteries.

Leafy greens can also reduce heart disease. An analysis of 8 studies associated an increase of leafy green vegetables with a 16% reduced incidence of heart disease.

Leafy Greens are good for your vision 👁️

We all know carrots are good for your eyes. But so are greens!

In 2016, researchers found that a higher intake of leafy green vegetables (which are rich in nitrates) was associated with a 20-30% percent lower risk of developing glaucoma — a condition that can lead to blindness.

Leafy Greens support brain health 🧠

Eat greens, smarten up!

Leafy greens contain lutein, a nutrient your body can't make on its own, so you must get it through diet.

A 2017 study found that middle-aged participants with higher levels of lutein had neural responses that were more on par with younger individuals than with their peers.

Greens have also been shown to combat cognitive decline. In 2018, a study published in “Neurology” found that 1 serving per day of green leafy vegetables may help to slow cognitive decline with aging.

Leafy Greens contain anti-cancer compounds

Leafy green vegetables are lean, green, cancer-fighting machines! Studies have shown that eating 2-3 servings of leafy greens a week may lower the risk of stomach, breast, and skin cancer.

But what makes these unassuming veggies so powerful? Leafy green vegetables are loaded with carotenoids (e.g. lutein and beta-carotene) and antioxidants. These powerful micronutrients not only protect cells but also can also help block the early stages of cancer.

Leafy greens are also rich in folate, also known as vitamin B9. Folate is an important water-soluble vitamin that plays a role in cell division and helps make new cells by copying and creating DNA. Studies have shown that folate may reduce colorectal, esophageal, and ovarian cancers.

The green pigment itself — chlorophyll — may also intercept carcinogens. In one study, chlorophyll bound to aflatoxins and prevented its absorption into the bloodstream.

So how much greens do you REALLY need? 🥬🥬, 🥬

The recommended intake is 2-3 cups of vegetables a day and 1½ -2 cups of dark green vegetables a week. The actual amount varies depending on gender, age and weight.

However, due to greens not being very dense, you would need about 2 cups of raw greens to make equal a 1 cup serving of vegetables. You can count 1 cup of cooked greens as 1 serving.

Green Smoovie Bowl made by @katheryna11

1. SMOOTHIES

We're a HUGE fan of smoothies at smoov. We even have a nickname for them- SMOOVIES (A smoothie containing one of our blends!)🧡

They’re one of the easiest ways you can increase the amount of fresh fruits, veggies and especially greens you eat on a daily basis. Some of our favorite green smoothies include our key lime pie smoovie, sweet & simple green smoovie, ultimate detox smoovie.

Golden juice made by @mommin.so.harb

2. JuiceS & SHOTS

Like smoothies, juices are a great way to increase your intake- minus the blending. A spoon of our green or golden blend in some water gives you a serving of veggies!🥬

If you have a juicer handy, throw in some celery, kale, apples, carrots, ginger.

3. Soups, Curries, Dips & Sauces

Greens aren’t just for smoothies and juices! We love sneaking healthy greens in soups and curries🍲

And we also love to take our snacking to the next level by mixing them into our hummus and guacamole- to name a few.

You won't know it's in there!

Green Dressing made by @fruitysophie

4. Dressings

We tried our best to leave out boring old salads but we couldn't leave out salad dressings. 

Mixing greens into your dressing is a clever way to disguise them!🥷

Our green blend is made with nothing else but 9 powerful superfoods and is as neutral tasting as it gets (naturally!).
And our kale leaf powder is the best around- pure, light, fluffy, vibrant, nutritious!