Every diet out there recommends eating more greens, right? Have you ever tried swiss chard? If not you are seriously missing out!! It is full of vitamins (particularly high in Vitamin K), nutrients and antioxidants and is, of course, super low in carbohydrates and calories. It is in the same food family as beets, spinach, and quinoa.
It is a truly incredible green to incorporate into your diet. I mean look how gorgeous these leaves are!! Yes, I’ve become such a nerd about healthy food now. My husband gives me a weird smile as I run up to him at the Farmer’s Market and say, “look how beautiful these leaves are and they are huge!” His face is like yeah, I see it. It’s just a vegetable.
There are several varieties I typically see at the farmer’s markets and grocery stores, which include green chard, red chard and rainbow chard. I’ve had them all and like them all. I don’t think the taste is really different between the varieties. I typically buy the rainbow chard because I just love the loud, beautiful colors. Also, I find it easier to wash the leaves or spot bugs on the leaves when they are one of the lighter green varieties versus some of the much more red or dark leaves.
Here’s my new favorite cooking fat that I use in this recipe. It is animal fat, so it is heat stable. Just in case you were curious, I don’t eat duck. Even though I do eat meat (I’ll get into my weird pickiness with meat at a later date), I can’t even handle the thought of eating duck. I needed another cooking fat in my diet though, so I took the leap and tried it. It has been nothing short of amazing to cook with so far. It is considered a good replacement for butter if you are avoiding dairy or don’t tolerate dairy. I can’t do dairy at all. I’ve cooked several kinds of veggies with it including potatoes (sweet and white), sauteed greens, and slow cooked greens. So far it is excellent with everything. I’m able to buy it at Whole Foods, Earth Fare, or Sprouts.
When you first purchase it, it will mainly be in liquid form. After opening it, it is recommended to refrigerate it. It will be come a solid when refrigerated.
Conventional wisdom is that fats are bad; women have especially been sold the low fat diet lie. I used to believe that. We’ve been convinced that eating fats equals getting fat. Fats are not bad for us and will not make us fat unless a high carbohydrate, sugar-laden, grain based diet is being consumed along with the high fats. By following a Paleo or Primal diet/lifestyle, which is what I do, fat is encouraged to be eaten and be your primary fuel source. I’ll share plenty more about that in upcoming posts.
As you see from the photos, I pair these greens with my Organic Roasted Duck Fat Potatoes. This is one of the meals I rotate in my diet. It is one of my favorite meals.
So, I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it as my family does. My entire family loves this, including my three year old daughter. It is kid tested and kid approved. She always asks for some of mine when I’m eating it. Nerdy me gets very excited when my daughter loves her veggies, especially greens!
Random side note: did you notice the super fun polka dot plates? Can I just tell you I’m obsessed with polka dots, and this plate collection is amazing. We registered for this pattern when we got married. It is loud and fun. The collection is Kate Spade Market Street. These are the appetizer size plates. Her dinner plates are even prettier in bold, solid colors (we got varieties in hot pink, blue and green as you may see in future posts). See photo below for one of the dinner plates. If you are interested, here’s a link on Amazon for the polka dot plate, and here are the bowls. We have these and love them. They’ve held up well with almost six years of wear and tear. Macy’s used to carry them as well. I’ve randomly seen pieces at HomeGoods too. As you’ll learn about me, I’m very much into loud and fun anything and everything. I thought I may get tired of the pattern or regret not getting white or plain. I’ve not regretted our choice for even a second!
Anyway, go enjoy your greens!
- 1-2 bunches of organic swiss chard, rainbow chard, or red chard
- ½ Tablespoon or desired amount of Epic Duck Fat
- Himalayan Salt
- Filtered water
- Tear the chard leaves off of the stems or use a knife to trim the leaves off the stems into small pieces. (I prefer to tear vs. trim the leaves off the stem and inspect the leaves as I go for bugs, bad spots, etc.)
- Throw out any bad leaves and toss the rest in a large glass bowl(s) or large stainless steel bowl(s). Depending on how much use 1-2 bowls.
- Fill the bowl or bowls with the torn or cut organic swiss chard leaves and filtered water, so that all the chard is submerged in water.
- Allow the chard to soak for 10-15 minutes to remove any remnants of dirt, bugs, etc.
- Once during that time period, shift the leaves around in the bowl.
- Once that time is up, drain the water off completely and refill the bowl with new, filtered water. Allow the leaves to soak again for 10 minutes or so.
- Drain all of the water off the chard.
- Place the chard leaves in a kitchen towel to squeeze out as much water as possible and dry them off. Be aware that the greens may stain your kitchen towel. Typically, I've found it washes out of mine.
- Preheat (just for several minutes) a stainless steel or cast iron skillet on medium low with ½ tablespoon of duck fat or your desired amount.
- Once the oil is melted, place the leaves in the skillet.
- Cook over medium low heat for approximately 20-25 minutes.
- Stir the chard approximately every 5-7 minutes as it cooks.
- Serve when it becomes soft and tender.
- Sprinkle with Himalayan salt.
- Enjoy!
