Inspiration Saturday: Healthy Greens

Yes, I love my chocolatey browns, tart yellows and of course sugary pinks.  But I also have an appreciation for those healthy greens.

I admit that I tend to look up the health benefits of fruits and veggies as I eat them.  There are two reasons for this:

• Self-righteousness tastes good, and
• If there's any chance that I could gain some placebo effect just by thinking that something is lowering my cholesterol or whatever, I want it.

But the logical reasons that I should eat these things are secondary to the reasons that I want to eat them.  Because they taste good.  I know I'm alienating all of the third graders out there who think that by pushing peas around their plates their parents might not notice that none of them have been eaten.  But I'll say it loud, say it proud: I love Brussels sprouts!

Oven-roasted or in the slow cooker, with some dijon mustard, having Brussels sprouts for dinner is kind of an exciting event.  Just a big bowl of them, and I'm all set.  More and more, my dinners are centered around green things, like steamed broccoli with melty cheese for dipping, and oven-roasted slices of zucchini.

In the past few weeks I've also tried some greens for the first time.  First, a gigantic bag of kale that I found on sale at the grocery store.  Then, again in a gigantic on-sale bag, collard greens.  Both were totally prepped for cooking, washed and chopped and all that.  All I did was put them in a big pot with about an inch of water and boiled/steamed until they were tender.  I love discovering new veggies, it's the flip side of all of the baking experimentation I do, keeping things simple instead of tossing in extra goodies and the calories that come with them.

I'm surprised that I don't have more green in my stash.  I think it just doesn't jump out to me as much as the crazy pinks and purples, which tend to be my impulse colors.  But I really do like green, from a limey chartreuse to a darker forest green, and those are making their way into my projects as well.

Do you love your veggies, or do you only eat them so you can get to dessert?  What about the color green?  And for more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.