Some call it Spinach, some call it Silverbeet, others Chard, but it really doesn't matter what you call it, all you need to know is just how packed full of nutrients and all other kinds of goodies for you.
This experimental recipe with both Silverbeet and Kale was inspired by this delicious dish that 
According to the experts, although slightly different in nutrient profiles, both have some serious health benefits- and with everything, also some downsides.
After washing the leaves of both, I roughly chopped them up.
Now don't they both remind you of pretty, frilly ballerina desses and ballgowns too?
As a Vegan, I know from experience that many people over the years have touted to me the benefits of Silverbeet and Spinach to be high in Iron and as much as they are, they are also high in Oxolates.
As oxalate forms an insoluble substance with iron, it reducing the amount of the iron being absorbed from the bowel. http://www.perthdietclinic.com.au/article.asp?ArticleID=307
So if you're low in Iron like I was last year- almost to the point of Anaemia, then don't count on these leafy greens to boost your levels WITHOUT a good dose of Vitamin C to help your body absorb it properly.
For example, foods rich in vitamin C such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries, kiwi fruit, melons, green leafy vegetables and capsicum can help you absorb more iron if you eat them at the same time as iron-rich foods. Add them raw to your plate, drink unsweetened orange juice with your meal, or take a vitamin C supplement.
And stay away from
Coffee, tea and red wine (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), on the other hand, can reduce iron absorption. Calcium-rich foods, calcium supplements and some soybean-based foods can also inhibit iron absorption. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/foods-high-in-iron
AS I had this beautiful zesty lemon/lime/Gingery/guacamole flavoured green vegie soup in the freezer that I cooked a couple of months ago, I decided to pull it out and cook the Silverbeet and Kale in it. (I forgot to pull it out sooner for it to defrost which is why it look like a green ice block here, but that didn't matter cause with the gas on low and slow, it thawed itself anyway...)
So let's look at this pretty, frilly, gorgeous leafy green that also went into this experimental recipe...
Another wonderfully nutritious leafy green, Kale has become so trendy among foodies these days and many think that it's just a new age diet fad, but we know that Kale- just like SIlverbeet and Spinach really is #naturalmedicine too, for Kale is great for Diabetics, those that want to lose that extra weight (like me..) and potentially reduces the risk of various cancers
Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese it contains. One cup of raw kale has just 33 calories and only 7 grams of carbohydrate. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/the-many-types-and-health-benefits-of-kale
Again though, just like everything in life has a positive and negative, Kale, like some other green veggies can also cause harm, especially to those like my Dad, living on the most extreme blood thinner- Wharfarin, because of the International normalised ratio (INR) test
It is used to monitor blood-thinning medicines, which are also known as anticoagulants...
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/international-normalised-ratio-INR-test Which essentially is a blood test (prick on the finger) to see how long the person's blood will take to clot... so they don't bleed to death.
First, you should know that your liver uses vitamin K to make blood clotting proteins. In doing so, vitamin K plays a role in your body's natural clotting process. Warfarin works against vitamin K.
A significant change in your intake of vitamin K can result in a significant, and potentially dangerous, change in your INR
As a "rule of thumb", green vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables, and certain oils have a high content of vitamin K.
http://www.clotcare.com/vitaminkandwarfarin.aspx
So, as I said, Like everything, there is always ALWAYS a negative to that positive...
So the curly green deliciousness of Kale also went into this experimental green recipe..
And a truckload of minced garlic, Lemon Pepper and onion flakes too and simmered it for a while, let it go cold and put it in the fridge as is.
The next morning I put a handful of Chia seeds in there cause I wanted to keep the moisture and the flavour without it being too 'runny', then a few hours later, blended it all together into a paste.
While I was waiting for the liquid to soak into the Chia seeds, I made the pastry dough using Nuttlex (nut butter) and Chickpea flour (sorry my hands were far to floury to take photos...)
During the soaking time, I also fried up some #plantbased Facon Bacon, becaue I wanted some contrast in the flavour.
Now I just want to say- as I get asked allll the time, I don't eat facon bacon (much cause it's soooo expensive) to get the taste of an animal. Bacon does not taste like a pig. Ham does not taste like a pig, because these are cured- flavoured pieces from the poor piggy and neither of them taste like pork chops. I like the taste of bacon- especially when it's plant based cause it does taste so much better and I do not have to eat a poor piggy to get that flavour.
Apparently the meat that a piggy tastes the most like, is a human being and if you don't believe me, ask all those indigenous clans that eat a lot of pork about their cannibalistic ancestors....https://heretical.com/cannibal/nzealand.html This I have been told many time over the years by my Maori friends and flatmates. Anyhoooooo......
So you see below, I spread the Silverbeet and Kale paste on the pastry dough, then sprinkled the facon bacon on top..
rolled them up into 'Roulades'...
Baked them in my oven for a while on both sides till they were golden and cripsy
And then ate them for dinner with this scrumptious, crunchy, colourful, raw veggie salad.
So I hope that you enjoyed this little tour of Mother Nature's greatest gifts of natural medicines- these dainty, frill dancing leafy greens and please check out those links for yourself too.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope that you get a chance to cook this very simple, easy and totally delicious recipe yourself some time too.
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