Softening Greens?

[tammay]

Hi All,
I've been trying to get more greens in, so I've been making a salad of greens every day. I've been using spinach mainly, but I want to start using other varieties, especially collard greens, kale, and maybe mustard greens, since they're widely available where I live (good thing about living in Texas :D).

My problem is that I have trouble digesting the raw greens because they're so tough. I like crispy greens, but is there any way to soften them up a bit? Maybe soak them in plain water for a bit before I use them in a salad?

Any ideas?

Tam

[3kidsmommy]

Hi Tam
When you massage your greens when sea salt that makes them wilt and greener. I do raw kale salad alot. Masage kale leaves with salt then avocado. It's pretty soft after that!

[Tsurugi_Oni]

Salt definately draws out water from plants. You can do the same with stuff like eggplant to make the texture much more enjoyable.

[contessa20]

I like to massage mine with olive oil and a little salt and then dehydrate for about an hour or so. That really softens them up nicely.

[DebB]

I made myself a kale salad tonight for dinner. Like above, I massaged in 1T olive oil and 1/2t salt. Then when it was wilted down I added 1/2 an avocado (that I smooshed into it by hand, coating all the leaves well), the other 1/2 avo chunked, sweet onion, 1T lemon juice and tomatoes.

Here's a kale salad video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlpy2RcsOtc) by Karen Knowler, a raw food coach in England. You might like to watch all her videos...

I also add the dark greens (chard, kale & collard) in my green smoothies. I tried mustard greens in my GS once, but found it too bitter and strong tasting, so I don't buy that anymore for smoothies. *Ü*

[spicyfull]

I'd give them a turn in the Food Processor.

[Ilse W.]

Green smoothies! :D The vitamix softens those babies up in seconds!:D:D

[adiebabe]

Letting them sit for awhile in a little oil and seasonings usually works quite well. They still taste yummie without turning to mush! Also the aforementioned dehydrating (for a bit) is supposed to work really well (so I've heard). :)

[Springtime]

Yeah, i second the GREEN SMOOTHIES! I've been having a quart a day for some time now, and i'm HOOKED!