the pollen count

Chard was one of the vegetables my mother introduced me to long ago, before eating greens became mainstream. She always did a quick saute with garlic and olive oil which is good but I have added my own twist to make it the perfect side dish for the holidays and a balance to all those carbs some of us eat this time of year 😁. In fact, chard has the ability to balance blood sugar levels in our bodies! it contains Syringic acid, a flavonoid that inhibits the breakdown of simple carbs to sugar, helping to regulate blood sugar levels. For anyone with diabetes this is great news, right? It is also full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other good stuff so we could all learn something from “mom” and eat more chard😀

Now that you are hopefully motivated to eat some chard here is a super simple recipe that not only tastes great it is green and red so will look so awesome at your holiday meal! I am calling it Christmas Chard but you can certainly try it any time of year; it is superb if you have some fresh garden tomatoes, not likely this time of year but find the best ones available.

CHRISTMAS CHARD RECIPE (this will serve 4 as a side dish, you can easily double the recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches fresh chard ( if you can find red & white chard all the more festive looking)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 or 4 medium sized fresh tomatoes ( I had yellow & red but all red would look great for a holiday meal)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 TBSB Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce or tamari

Directions: ( cooking time is only about 10 minutes)

1. Wash chard & cut stems into 1 ” pieces, set aside.
2. Chop leaves into approximately 1 x 3 ” ribbons.
3. Peel & chop garlic
4. Zest 1 lemon & squeeze out juice (save).
5. Chop tomatoes into chunks, save any juices.
6. Heat oil in very large skillet or wok style pan & add garlic & chard stems, sautéing for just a minute.
7. Add chard leaves & stir with a wooden spoon to mix them into the oil. Add the Bragg’s or soy sauce/tamari & sauté for about 5 minutes until greens start to wilt.
   

   
8. Add tomatoes & their juices to pan & stir together. Cook for another 5 minutes, just to heat the tomatoes. You don’t want them to turn to mush. I do NOT like overlooked greens so I do not cook them until they are totally limp, but  slightly al dente.
9. Add lemon juice & zest, toss together & put in a serving bowl.

This is one dish you cannot overeat so eat as much as you like😋