Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Swiss chard question

I was wondering if anyone knows if the stems of rainbow chard has any special vitamins in them. I don't generally eat much of the stems because I don't really like them but they are such a beautiful color and I don't eat much with color. All my vegies at this point are green. So I'm thinking it might be worth eating them to get the extra vitamins if they have them.

Annette

in general i can tell you that they say to eat as much and as many colors of the rainbow as possible when it comes to fruits and veggies. the different colors do, to some degree, correlate with the different chemicals that are good for you. so enjoy. i'm not a big fan of the cooked swiss chard by itself, and since its really easy to grow in the garden and one of the few things the critters won't eat (should tell you something right there ) we have a lot of it. i do like it raw as a salad green mixed with spinach and lettuces or cooked into soups. enjoy.

sue

Hi Annette,

I know the stems of swiss chard (what we call Silverbeet in New Zealand) contain selenium and the leaves have iron. The rainbow chard will have extra vitamins given its colour - probably vit C.

In case you need some inspiration for cooking chard -the following is a French recipe from Jane Sigal's book 'Backroad Bistros, Farmhouse Fare' that uses the stems rather than the leaves - it's really yummy!

Swiss Chard with Bacon and Tomatoes

1/2 T olive oil
2 slices bacon
2 1/2 C Swiss chard stems, halved lengthwise and sliced across
4 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (I just throw the whole lot in!)
salt and pepper

In a medium sauce pan, heat the oil. Add the bacon to the pan and cook slowly for 3-5 mins without browning it. Add the Swiss chard and stir. Mix in the tomatoes. Cover and cook over a moderate heat, stirring now and then, until the chard is tender - 10-25mins. Season as required.

Plum

When you cook the stems they are very tender, melt in the mouth. I saute both leaves and stems in coconut oil, garlic and grey sea salt. I also like it mixed with pork chorizo (a mexican sausage). I get them homemade from Whole Foods, no starchy fillers. I remove the sausage from the casing, and saute in coconut oil. Then I also mix in poached eggs. Its a great combo.

Oh great recipes!! Saving this for sure. I am so hungry now.

The recipes look great! I'll definitely be chopping up the stems in my dishes now. It'll add some nice color. Thanks everybody.

Annette

we cook it the same way we cook spinach:

sautee with a little olive oil and crushed garlic

sue

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=16

That website is amazing, it has tons of food info.

i second that, i stumbled across the site while looking for the foods highest in omega 3. its an excellent site.

sue

Great website! Thanks, swiss chard is even better for me than I thought.