Collards

Collard greens to me were always a vegetable that southern black people and Paula Dean simmered down with lard and served with cornbread and pulled pork. Low and behold they can be very healthy for you. Who-da-thunk-it? They are actually part of the dark green 4-some that I rotate into my smoothies (the other 3 are spinach, kale, and Swiss chard). 


So I bought a bunch the other day to make wraps with (learned it from Lisa). The first try was a messy failure so I put part of the bunch back in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer for my smoothies. This morning when I woke up, still reliving memories of the White Castle episode the other night, I decided to try the wraps again. 

I tried to make my hand look graceful, but it just wasn't happening
from this angle. 

Much better. I made a salmon salad and wrapped it in cucumbers and the collard leaves. In the salmon salad was:

• Bumble Bee canned salmon (skinless boneless- you could pretend it is tuna and no one would know the difference)
• Spectrum canola mayonnaise 
• spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 green apple
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 stalk celery
• turmeric
• black pepper

Let me explain a little about the ingredients in this salmon salad. First of all, I use canned salmon instead of canned tuna because they put soy in the tuna. I am not sure if it is in the watery broth or if they use it as a filler so they don't need to put as much fish in each can. My guess would be the latter. (P.S. you know the frozen hamburger patties you buy? They have soy as a filler too...it's common practice these days.) That would also explain why a can of tuna is so much cheaper than salmon.  

Secondly, you might be asking why I put turmeric and onions and black pepper in this salad. It is because this trio has been shown to magnify the healing effects of the others. Turmeric is a powerful spice that has been used for centuries. It has anti-inflammatory effects on the body, as well as: 

• natural antibiotic
• anti-oxidant
• helps aid in digestion
• maintains & improves intestinal flora
• purifies the blood
• reduces gas and bloating

This is just a snippit of the long list of turmeric's healing properties. It is well known that  humans however, cannot fully absorb turmeric unless it is in the presence of black pepper. I also just recently found out that if turmeric (and pepper) are paired with raw yellow onions, its healing effects are multiplied. So next time you make chili, add some turmeric and pepper and top with raw yellow onions. 

In the meantime, try out collards as wraps. In this meal alone I ate 1 fruit and 4 different vegetables. That was after my morning smoothie. I'm already up to 10 fruits and vegetables and it isn't even dinner yet. If you are looking for another way to substitute refined carbs with vegetables try RAW: Zucchini.