Don’t eat spinach or kale unless you’re doing this too

Whether it’s for a New Year’s resolution, more energy, vitamins, or just better overall health, adding more leafy greens to the menu is always a good idea. Spinach and kale are in the spotlight lately with salads, breakfast bowls, smoothies, “Buddha bowls,” omelettes, and more. But, you shouldn’t eat these green leafy vegetables unless you’re also consuming a healthy fat in the same meal. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on a lot of the nutrition you were looking for. But how and why should you do this? Find out with this article.

What is a fat-soluble vitamin?
A fat-soluble vitamin is a healthy organic compound that your body can only absorb if a fat is present at the same time the vitamin is consumed. Only a lipid can dissolve (and render useful) vitamins A, D, E, and K. The job of the small intestine is to absorb these vitamins into their lipid droplets as they pass along with other foods. The vitamins are then stored in body tissue or used to do their job in various bodily functions. Spinach, kale, and other green leafy vegetables are great sources of these essential fat-soluble compounds.

So where is the problem?
If there is no lipid present in the small intestine along with these vitamins, the body will ignore them and they will be of no use to you. Eating a fat-free spinach salad for dinner and then having a fat dessert won’t help. Spinach enters the intestine first, and without fat where it is broken down, the vitamins are not absorbed.

This used to be combated with salad dressings like the traditional oil and vinegar dressing. However, these days you will find two extremes when it comes to dressing; the low-fat/fat-free variety, and the restaurant type where it has too many fats, sugars, or other additives that make the salad not worth it. The other problem is within the smoothies, bowls and vegetables at breakfast. Unless they are in a tortilla, it is unlikely that there will be any fat on the table at the same time. A smoothie with kale, banana, pineapple and rice milk is common…but where’s that healthy fat? We just need.

Healthy fats and vitamins working together for you:
Now that you know how fat-soluble vitamins work, you’ll want to work on including some healthy fat in your food at the same time. Of course, not all fats are created equal. There’s the nasty ‘trans fats’ you hear about in the news, plus monounsaturated fats, animal fats, hydrogenated oils, non-hydrogenated oils, vegetable fats, omega 3s, omega 6s, medium chain triglycerides, and fish oils. .the list goes. unceasingly.
But choosing the right type of fat is important for good absorption and good health. Of course, trans fats aren’t good for you, so what’s a healthy, easy, and versatile one to choose? Plant-based lipids are a good starting point. Unlike hydrogenated oils, they may not be as stable or long lasting, but neither is fresh fruit and no one seems to care. Good sources of these include nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa beans, and tahini.

The solution is delicious (and easy!)
If you’re eating a salad, consider making your own dressing. It’s often as easy as pouring, shaking to mix, then use. Also consider shredding your salad with sunflower seeds, chia seeds, or walnuts instead of croutons. Each seed and nut has healthy omega-3 oils, protein, and a great flavor and texture for salad. Include olive oil: preferably cold pressed/first press. Olive oil is rich in the kind of healthy fats needed for the great vitamins in a healthy salad. Omega 3 and 6 oils, when in balance, help form healthy skin membranes (for youthful-looking skin), support brain health, and help nourish hair follicles. An olive oil-based salad dressing with healthy seeds like chia, used over a baby spinach salad and topped with crunchy walnuts, is a healthy and tasty way to start.

Do you want to try a homemade dressing?
This recipe is super simple to get you off to a good start.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried chia seeds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Simply combine all ingredients in a lidded container and shake to mix. You are now ready for the salad!
When you mix up quick dressings at home, you don’t get condoms, artificial colors or flavors, and you get the flavor you want. The internet is a wealth of easy dressing recipes just a search away.

How about those breakfast bowls?
You don’t like salad? Okay, there’s a fun and fruity way to get your veggies…without even tasting them! The answer here is the smoothie or breakfast bowl. When you mix kale with pineapple and banana…you don’t even taste it. (Kale is notoriously a bit bitter and tough, not everyone is going to enjoy eating the leaves, no matter what you top them with) However, no one wants olive oil in the blender and coconut oil will just grease it.

You can let nut butter be one of your answers here. A swirl of plain peanut butter (skip the high fructose corn syrup) or a heaping tablespoon of almond butter is great in chocolate or berry smoothies. Naturally, any smoothie or bowl can be topped with nuts to add crunch and the healthy fats you need, too. But what if you have a bowl that nut butter just won’t work in?

The seed of sweet or salty omega-3 oil solution
The problem (if it could be called that) with the other healthy fats on the list is either texture (oily oils!) or taste (nobody wants a nut in their pineapple). So what if you could have something with calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, healthy omega 3 oils, antioxidants, complete plant protein AND two types of fiber… that didn’t change the taste of food?

You really would be in the business of healthier eating…and you would have the chia seed on your side. Chia seeds are small so they will mix or match with just about anything. They’re also unflavored, so you’ll never taste them… but they do contain the entire list of benefits seen above, and more. They are perfect to add to any smoothie or bowl because they do not alter the flavor. They’re also great for salad dressings, soups, and sandwiches because they’re as easy to use as “sprinkles.” When you have chia, you don’t have to worry about including the healthy fats in any flavor of green smoothie or bowl.

With this knowledge, you can now enjoy your vegetables more and get more nutrition from them, too. By choosing the right types of fats and exploring more flavor options, your spinach and kale can go way beyond salad and you’ll know you’re always getting all the available vitamins and minerals. Eating better every day doesn’t have to be difficult, and when you feel the results, it’s easy to want to keep going. Find the combinations you like and easy sources of omega 3 and you’ll be on the road to better health.