Field Goods and Healthy Greens

I recently signed up for a new vegetable delivery program!

You might remember last summer Chris and I signed up for a CSA Program, where from June to October we got a delivery of fresh, locally grown vegetables from Otter Hook Farms! I really liked it, but I didn’t sign up for 2013 because I just didn’t want the commitment. Enter, Field Goods! After reading about Jona’s vegetables every week, I wanted some of my own.

Field Goods is almost the same concept as a CSA, except that you pay weekly for a share of vegetables (or fruit, cheese or breads) and you can put it on hold or cancel at any time! I liked the flexibility too. Its kind of like a Netflix, for vegetables! The vegetables change weekly according to season and they even continue through the winter, which is what I liked. They all come from various farms throughout the area.  A small vegetable share is $20 per week, which is enough for 1-2 people. I’m gladly paying because now I don’t have to spend time pick out out vegetables at the store.

Last week I was supposed to get my first delivery. They have tons of places for pickup all over the Capital Region. There was one located near my office, so I chose that one. Unfortunately they had some problems delivering last week due to the holiday, so I didn’t get my first bag. However, they generously offered me some free local cheese to make up for it and didn’t charge me for that bag.

One of the items in this week’s bag was a huge bag of leafy greens: all types of kale and collard greens. Beautiful! Of course these greens have fantastic nutritional benefits. Kale and collards are some of the best for you.

Nutrition Benefits of Collard Greens

• Great source of vitamin c, soluble fiber

• Contains multiple nutrients with anti-cancer properties

• A quarter pound of collards (cooked) only contains 46 calories

• High source of vitamin k, the blood clotting vitamin, so eat in moderation if you are on a blood thinner

Other info

• Fresh collard leaves can be stored for about three days in the fridge

• Once cooked, they can be frozen and stored for longer

Nutrition Benefits of Kale

• Very high in beta carotene, vitamin k, vitamin c, and rich in calcium.

• Contains nutrients with anti-cancer properties

• Been found to contain something known as bile acid sequestrants, which have been shown to lower cholesterol and decrease absorption of dietary fat

Other info

• Boiling kale decreases its anti-cancer nutrients, but steaming, microwaving, or stir-frying do not result in significant loss

One of the reasons I signed up for Field Goods is to increase my vegetable intake. I noticed the past few months I’ve been having a hard time eating fresh fruits and vegetables since I’m so busy (with nutrition school, which is kind of ironic…and sad) and I’m left with little time for meal planning and preparation. Getting these vegetables delivered is a sure way that I’m going to prepare and eat them during the week! In case you are wondering what came along with the greens, there were  also apples, carrots, cremini mushrooms, and radishes in the bag!

A quick and easy way to prepare these greens is cooking them in a skillet. I washed them, removed the stems and roughly tore them into bite-size chunks. After sauteing an onion with garlic powder in olive oil for about 5 minutes, I threw in the greens and let them cook with a little olive oil and an all purpose spice mixture for about 5 more minutes or until they turned bright green. They are delicious and this way required minimal time and effort on my part.

{soruces: 1, 2}