Spring Vegetables for Late Winter & Early Spring: Transitioning with Nutrition

These spring vegetables and greens are perfect for refreshing your plate as spring begins! Freshen your table with fresh spring vegetables and save with a special opportunity!

As the winter begins to thaw and melt into spring, the landscape and garden begin to transform with the appearance of spring vegetables. In many climates, hardy greens like kale, collards and cabbages survive colder temperatures and become sweeter. Other spring vegetables can be started early in the late winter to give a jumpstart on the gardening season.

If you are like me, this time of year brings excited anticipation of returning to the local farmer’s market and starting to see new growth in the garden. The market is the perfect resource for finding out what is in season in your neighborhood right now!

One of the most powerful things you can do to improve your health, boost your energy and cleanse the body is to incorporate leafy greens into your diet! Greens help build our internal rainforest, strengthen our circulatory systems, cleanse the respiratory system and balance the body overall. 

Happy Spring!! Are you ready for some new delicious ways to get your greens in? Go GREEN to supercharge your Spring with my popular Glorious Greens for Great Health virtual workshop and cookbook!

and if you are a health coach or health care provider, I have a wonderful done-for-you Greens Workshop to build your business and share this vibrant health with your clients and patients!

5 Spring Vegetables For Great Health!

These greens and other veggies are perfect for refreshing your plate as spring begins to arrive! These spring vegetables are wonderful choices for an early spring garden and reap a nice harvest for your table. 

Spinach

Fresh spring spinach is frost-resistant and versatile for cooking. There are many variety of spinach, often categorized by savoy, semi-savoy or smooth-leaf. Savoy and semi-savoy have crinkled or curly leaves while smooth-leaf varieties are flatter and have a smoother texture. 

Greens like spinach are rich in so many phytonutrients and antioxidants including magnesium, a crucial mineral for calm and relaxation. Magnesium improves the body’s overall response to stress and helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. Most Americans are deficient in this important mineral, which may contribute to the risk of heart disease from chronic stress. 

Baby spinach leaves harvested early in the spring tend to be tender and great for raw salads or lightly sauteed stir-fries. 

Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard is one of the most beautiful greens! It has a delicate, sweet flavor and works well in place of spinach or kale in a variety of recipes. 

Some of the antioxidants found in Swiss chard include carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which are crucial for eye health; and flavonoids, like quercetin and kaempferol, which act as antihistamines to reduce allergic reactions and inflammatory responses. Swiss chard is also one of the best sources of water-soluble pigments called betalains which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

The nutritional benefits of Swiss chard make it especially useful for preventing and treating diabetes. Swiss chard helps regulate activity of an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase, which helps to balance blood sugar by aiding in the slow release of glucose into the blood stream.

Artichokes

Enjoying a fresh artichoke is a true pleasure! Simply steam to soften and peel off the leaves, scraping the sweet inside out with your teeth. The delicate heart is also delicious! 

From a health standpoint, artichokes are great spring vegetables for supporting detoxifcation and aiding digestion. They are rich in the prebiotic inulin which promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in our guts. Phytonutrient extracts in the leaves and stems such as silymarin have traditionally been used to support the liver. 

Interestingly, artichokes contain cynarin, a compound which stimulates taste bud receptors to make other bland foods taste more palatabble. Cynarin also supports the production of bile to help with proper digestion of food. 

Peas

These versatile green spring vegetables are a popular choice. You can eat them raw for a crunchy, sweet snack or cook in or out of the pod, depending on variety. Peas add vibrant springtime color to a vast array of dishes!

Peas are a good vegetable source of protein with 5 grams in a cup in the pod and 8 grams in a cup of shelled peas. They also provide fiber for gastrointestinal health and cleansing as well as many vitamins and minerals.  

Radishes

These detoxifying spring vegetables are common in supermarkets year-round but the sweetness and freshness of new spring radishes can’t be beat! These orbs pack a hefty dose of vitamin C to help calm inflammation, boost collagen in the skin and reduce free-radicals.  They also contain potassium which helps balance blood pressure. 

Radishes are also a fast-growing vegetable, ready for harvest in as little as three weeks. They can be spicy or sweet depending on the variety and work well both raw in salads or as crudite or sauteed or roasted to bring out the natural sweetness. The leaves of the radish plant can also be enjoyed added raw to salads or cooked like spinach. 

What are your favorite spring veggies?

How are you celebrating the start of Spring?

If you enjoyed these healthy tips, I welcome you to join my free Insider’s Community for special offers, members-only opportunities, wellness news, recipes and more! 

 

Your Simple Pure Whole Wellness Plan!

• The perfect opportunity for Spring! Since inflammation plays such an important role in so many chronic issues and Spring is the perfect time to cleanse and start anew, I am offering a new, affordable, to-the-point program to help you find balance, heal chronic illness, get to a healthy weight and revitalize! The Simple | Pure | Whole Laser Reset Cleanse will jumpstart the transformation of your lifestyle, diet and body to leave you feeling better than you have in years! 

• Breathe: Guided Relaxation & Breathing Exercises to Help You Find Your Whole Cure is now available!  This special resource will support you in bringing The Whole Cure to life! The individually-available breathing exercises and guided relaxation experiences (starting at $0.99!) can be used anywhere, at any time of day. Try using them when you feel panic, stress, anxiety or just want a few moments of calm in your day. They are also helpful for coping with pain and helping the body prepare for rest and relaxation.

• 3-Month Simple | Pure | Whole^TM Wellness Solution Essential Lifestyle Coaching Program! Get personalized one-on-one attention and transformational coaching to address your physical and emotional body, lifestyle and habits with customized virtual transformational wellness coaching! 
• The Whole Cure: 52 Essential Prescriptions for Overcoming Overwhelm, Reclaiming Balance and Reconnecting with a Life You Love!  Commit to yourself with 52 simple yet profound stress management techniques that you can work on throughout the year to change your mindset and find greater peace, calm and balance!

Simple Pure Whole Opportunities!

 

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this email and related resources is for informational purposes only. The information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. Every body is unique so be sure to check with your health care professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes taking any medication or nutritional supplement or using any treatment for a health issue.. Do not use this information provided for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you suspect you have a medical problem please contact your healthcare provider promptly and do not disregard professional medical advice based on anything in this email. This correspondence and related resources are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease and do not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Jennifer Weinberg.

This post was shared with: Allergy-Free Wednesday, What’s Cookin’ Wednesday, A Little Bird Told Me Link Party, Wow Us Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Healthy Living Link Party, Create It Thursday, Family Fun Friday,  Friday’s Five Features and Fun Festivities, Weekend Retreat, Real Food Fridays, Savoring Saturdays, LinkLove, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop!, Create and Share