Over-Wintered Collard Greens

We harvested 12 lbs of collard greens from the BSCAH Urban Farm on Thursday, April 11th and used them to cook up two different collard recipes at Health 360 the next day. The collard green plants had survived Hurricane Sandy and grown throughout the winter. Collard greens are really hearty vegetable that can withstand the cold, and over-wintering causes them to taste very sweet! Nathalie Basile, a certified holistic health volunteer, taught us about the numerous health benefits of collard greens. Collard greens have the following health properties: 

-High in Calcium

-Great source of fiber

-High in Vitamin E, which is good for your skin and nails

-High in Vitamin K, necessary for proper absorption of calcium

-High in Vitamin A, supporting healthy vision

-High in Vitamin C, which boosts immune system

-Rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

-Anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant 

-Contain large amounts of iron, copper, manganese, selenium and zinc

Because of these health properties, collard greens can help to prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, and prevent cancer. We will be planting lots more collards on the BSCAH Urban Farm so that more of our pantry customers and educational program participants can take advantage of this exceptionally healthy vegetable! Check out the collard recipes that we made at Health 360 on our recipes page.

Photo by Murray Cox, www.murraycox.com.