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Food for Fitness: Eat Those Dark Leafy Greens

posted by ChickSpeak
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 3:55pm CST

My fiancé and I have recently decided to improve our diets. By this I mean a serious cut back on calories, saturated fats, and excess carbs. Heading into our third week at this attempt, I would say that we are doing quite well.

I would be lying if I said that I did not love let alone absolutely salivate at the thought of an amazingly prepared bacon cheese burger. Or if I said that I hated a big slice of pepperoni pizza. Naturally, I have been hard wired to love foods that cause orgasmic sensations on my taste buds.

Unfortunately for me and my body, those foods are usually foods that are not necessarily the healthy choice. So in this process, my fiancé and I have had to re-wire our thinking about foods.

Instead of thinking about how wonderful Chick-Fil-A smells in the university cafeteria, I picture myself eating a lush green salad. This helps me to become excited about eating my healthy meal.

Now if you are like me, a salad never truly sounds appealing. However, I think that if you ate the right kind of salad then you might change your tune.

First rule in salad eating is this: the greener the better! I grew up eating salads only made of iceberg lettuce. This is the light green lettuce that is really crunchy. Most salads that you may order will be made of this stuff.

However, it was not until just a few years ago that I ate a salad made of baby greens and spinach. I did not think that I would like it at first because I preferred the texture of iceberg, but the flavors were unlike any other salad that I had ever tasted.

Along with the sudden burst of flavor that comes with the greener and leafier lettuces, there are a few more calories, and a significant rise in vitamins and minerals in comparison to the iceberg.

“Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of many vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, such as vitamins A, C, and K, folate, iron and calcium. They are also great sources of fiber. Research suggests that the nutrients found in dark green vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers and promote heart health.” says The Center for Young Women’s Health.

Most nutritionists and dieticians will tell you to pair a salad with a low-fat dressing, and I could not agree more. Low-fat vinaigrette blends nicely with the somewhat bitter greens giving them an extra pop of flavor.

So the next time you want to eat a salad, go for the greener lettuce. If you really like the crunchy texture of the iceberg lettuce try romaine. It is greener, and it has more fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, folate, vitamin K, beta carotene, lutein + zeaxanthin

Fatima Meadows attends Appalachian State University. She almost prefers a leafy green salad kissed with herb vinaigrette to a cheeseburger, and is learning to like more green veggies in the process.

Photo from here.