Sneaky Nutrition - Garlic

Raise your hand if you often use garlic in your cooking. I’d imagine that just about everyone who stops by and sees that request will be able to raise her (his) hand. I know I sure can—both hands. Hands down, it’s my favorite seasoning. I use the powder for sprinkling on meat, but for the most part, I like the fresh cloves for other things. It makes so many foods taste scrumptious—all veggies, potatoes, soups, stews, casseroles, etc. etc. I haven’t tried my hand at using it in any desserts, but wonder if anybody else has. Doesn’t seem to go, does it?

Now, raise your hand if you already know how healthy garlic is. Not quite so many hands on this one? Let me tell you, this is one food item that is GOOD for us. Don’t worry about the garlic smell on your breath and hands. You’ve got to start chopping, slicing, grinding or pressing it into lots of dishes. You can’t be too sneaky with the familiar smell and taste, but your family will be unsuspecting that you might be helping them to fight an infection, control their blood pressure and cleanse their systems at the same time. I won’t hand you too long of a list of benefits, which would take up too much of your time, but go check it out. Just “google” the word and see what you find out.

As always in my Sneaky Nutrition posts, I have a family recipe to hand down. This time I want to share how I now cook collard greens. I’ve given up using the salty meat which has been traditional in our culture for as long as I can remember. Here’s how I cook them now:

I’m sorry, but there are no exact measurements for this one. The amounts are approximate.

One or two pounds of fresh collards [or kale, mustard, turnip greens]
3 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped or sliced
small onion chopped
1 to 2 cups of chicken broth
olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper if desired.,

Wash the greens, several times, especially if they are fresh from a garden. Sauté the garlic and onions in a little olive oil. When translucent, add the broth and seasonings. The amount of broth depends on the amount of greens. (If you use regular bouillon, you won’t need salt. Goya has the best!) When the broth is boiling, add the greens. The broth should come no where near covering the greens—they will cook down. Cook on medium high for about ten minutes, then turn on slow and simmer until they are tender.

Then serve them to your family with chicken cooked with garlic powder, garlic mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. Humbly take your bows as you listen to the hand clapping which will follow.

[Fun fact: What word appears multiple times in this post and how many times is it there? It appears in both singular and plural form.]