Collard Greens?

I picked up a new kind of green at the grocery store this weekend to try in my green smoothie. I don’t have a lot of experience with anything other than baby spring mix and spinach (and I tried mustard greens… nach! My throat was on fire!). I thought it was kale but they were actually collard greens according to the twist tie around the bottom. The point is, my smoothie tastes like vomit. I don’t mean that metaphorically, either. It tastes exactly like vomit. Does anyone else have experience with collard greens? Are they not a good green smoothie base? I tried to drink it but I got about a quarter of the way through before I had to ditch it. I know I am supposed to mix up the greens to get different vitamins/minerals out of them, but the only one I like is baby spinach! Are there other milder, sweeter, non-vomitous greens?

Thanks!

Comments

  • hmmmm… I have only used collards as wraps for sammies. Did you de-vein it? It has a tough vein for sure. I don’t know! VOMIT?! The only thing that tastes like vomit to me besides vomit is papaya.

  • heyenglishheyenglish Raw Newbie

    Collards are a heavier green, so when I occasionally throw them into a smoothie, I go a lot lighter on the amount than I would with spinach or baby greens. I do the same thing with kale too, as that has a pretty intense flavor (and effect on my stomach!). I’d try a higher fruit to greens ratio. For something similar to spinach, try turnip greens.

  • Wow, what a not-so-nice first impression you’ve been given of them. Oh my. I use them in wraps. They are killer good this way. I have never used them in a smoothie and wouldn’t attempt to either. Here’s a video of a wrap I made with chard, you could easily use any other leafy green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7rmfAQw6RU

    I filled it with asparagus, avocado, mushrooms and nut parmasean… Hope that link works and gives you an extra idea : )

    I’ve found collard to be great with tomato slices, avocado, green onion and sprouts! or hemp guacamole and sprouts (reminds me to post my hemp guac recipe)

  • Thanks, guys. I have some left over and I am going to try them as a wrap this afternoon for lunch. I definitely tried to do the same fruit:greens ratio as I would with spinach, and that was a bad idea. Now I know! Wraps only! TheRawDance, your ideas for fillings sound delicious.

  • steviostevio Raw Newbie

    I use collards in my green smoothies. The trick is that you need at least 2 bananas plus some other fruit like blueberries or strawberries. Also, keep the ratio reasonable, this one should be more fruit than greens.

    I try to eat as much blended food as possible as blending is said by some source (that is completely unreliable) to be the equivalent of chewing for 8 hours. Try blennding your collards again some time.

  • greenghostgreenghost Raw Newbie

    Teril Ynn from the Daily Raw Cafe has a great recipe for Collard Greens.
    http://www.thedailyrawcafe.com/2007/10/mess-o-g…
    and stevio’s smoothie (above) sounds good…

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    I have never tried collards, but was planning on buying some, as they were sort of like a poor man’s green here in the south, so they are very inexpensive. Glad I read this first!

    TheRawDance…how did you make your nut parmesan cheese? I would love to be able to make a substitue for parmesan! I grew up in an Italian family, so things like parmesan and mozzarella (or cheese in general, really) are going to be thorns in my side as I start cutting out dairy.

  • Branwyn: all i do is put raw nuts in a parm. cheese grater!!! if you watch my video link above then you will see what it looks like if you aren’t familiar. i’m sure you can get them for like 10 bucks or less!!! try collards, they are mildly bitter but wonderful, especially for wraps.

    ps. collards and bananas, should try that (response a few comments up). i make banana and spinach smoothies and LOVE THEM… curious now about collards in a smoothie/shake.

  • I TOTALLY know what you mean about the collards tasting like vomit!! I have had the same experience with collards, and with cabbage. Sometimes cabbage overwhelms me with a sulphur taste that I think is deathly bad (the only description I could think of to get my point across). I don’t really make smoothies very often, but I juice everyday. I love kale, red chard, and rainbow chard in my juices. This morning I made juice with romaine, red chard, an apple, and a lemon, and it was soooo sweet I almost couldn’t finish it. I think adding sweet fruit like apples helps tremendously to cover up that “swamp water” taste that green juice can sometimes have.

  • Branwyn32Branwyn32 Raw Newbie

    TheRawDance- That’s brilliant! I never would’ve thought to do that. I bet it would taste amazing over squash noodles. I watched you vid, and some of your other vids and looked at your website…just wanted to send you hugs and healing energy. I’ve struggled with some of the same things. You are strong and brave and fabulous. hugs

    I will give the collards a go…they’re only 99 cents for a HUGE bunch at the grocery store, so I’d do well to develop a taste for them. I suppose cramming them in a smoothie with enough berries could balance out the bitterness as a start. Spinach is one of my faves and I have tones of it, but the leaves aren’t big enough for wraps, so I’ll definitely try the collards for that too. Thanks!

  • greenghostgreenghost Raw Newbie

    branwyn32 yeah the collard leaves are great for wraps—just remember to devein it… the center vein of collards tend to be quite tough.

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