Vegetable of the Week #7: Swiss Chard

I have been eating greens for my whole life and just realized the other day that I had never cooked with Swiss chard. So last night, we tried it! I was pleasantly surprised by the mild flavor and great texture. My kids were skeptical but commented that "this is good". I am thinking the leaves may be good for wraps as well!

Swiss chard was identified by a Swiss botanist, hence the name, and it is native to the Mediterranean. It is a member of the goosefoot family of vegetables, a relative of beet and spinach. Health benefits include fiber (3.7 gm/1 cup cooked chard), calcium (10% RDA/1 cup cooked chard), and a variety of antioxidants. It is also a wonderful source of vitamins A, C, and K. It also contains smaller but significant amounts of magnesium, copper, zinc, sodium, phosphorus and vitamin E. Of course, it is a green leafy vegetable. Numerous studies show that eating green leafy vegetables lowers risk of elevated cholesterol and heart disease. Let's start kids on that path young.

Please enjoy the recipe suggestion below!

Sauteed Swiss Chard

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

One bunch swiss chard (any kind - I used rainbow)

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

3 scallions, chopped (you can substitute red or yellow onion - my recipes never contain straight onion due to FODMAPs)

1/2 cup white wine

2 T lemon juice

grated parmesan and salt to taste (pepper as well if you are not sensitive to it)

Method

1) Chop the swiss chard leaves separately from the stems.

2) Melt the olive oil and butter in a pan.

3) Add chard stems and cook with top on until tender, about 5 minutes.

4) Add white wine and cook for another 2-3 minutes for alcohol to evaporate.

5) Add chard leaves and scallions and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

6) add lemon juice, parmesan, salt and pepper.

Great mixed in with bites of chicken, rice and avocado!

Enjoy!