Three Delicious Ways to Enjoy Your Greens on the Go This Summer

(📸) @apaigeofpositivity

Happy summer, everyone!

Summer is one of our very favorite seasons of the year at WP Rawl. No matter where you look, you see the color GREEN everywhere. From the green leaves on the trees to the greens that are popping up in our fields, our favorite color is all around us. It’s even in our kitchens each day as we prep and enjoy our meals.

We don’t know about y’all, but we tend to stay on the go during the summer months. The extra daylight hours have us up and out the door early in the morning and staying out later in the evenings. Combined with the warm weather, we like to spend the majority of our days outside. That can make mealtimes a little tricky in our homes as we are spending less time gathered around the table for mealtimes. Most of our meals are actually on the go.

But you know what? We’re not sacrificing nutrition despite being on the go! We’re taking our greens everywhere that we go with us this season. Vacations? Sure, we’ve got our greens there. Early morning swim practices with the kids? Yup, you can bet we have a cup full of greens down by the pool, too. Here are some of our tried and true recipes that make enjoying greens on the go very easy.

Chocolate Kale Zucchini Mini Muffins

Our Chocolate Kale Zucchini Mini Muffins are perfect to meal prep ahead of time! Whip up a batch of these on Sunday night to enjoy for a quick breakfast during the week. They even make for a great snack during the day.

Watermelon Apple Salad with Greens

Prepped and served from a mason jar, our Watermelon Apple Sale with Greens is not only super easy to eat on the go, but it’s also a cute way to enjoy a salad. Prep this one the night before or first thing in the morning before you head out the door for your day’s adventures.

Smoothie

Hands down, the easiest way to take your greens to go this summer? In a smoothie! Smoothies are cool, tasty, and exceptionally refreshing to enjoy during the hot summer months. We have an abundance of smoothie recipes for you to enjoy on our website. What’s your favorite one to enjoy? Smoothies are so easy to customize—you can take any of our recipes and tailor them specifically to your tastes and needs.

How are you taking your greens to go this summer? We would love to see! Tag us in your photos and videos on social media with @naturesgreens and #backtofresh.

Oh, Sweet Kale Of Mine!

This July, we are focusing on sweets. Sweets can be healthy and nutritious too, right?  Of course!

Try to incorporate a healthy and delicious leafy green, such as kale, in your favorite sweet treat. Here are 4 ways that will help you keep your favorite desserts “Back to Fresh”.

Photo Credit: Buzz Feed

1.       Use neutral tasting ingredients to cut out unwanted calories!

Sugars and sweeteners in desserts help mask the taste of other ingredients. Researchers from Idaho State University found that 8 in 10 people enjoyed fudge made with tofu just as much as they did with butter. Replacing butter with a healthier alternative is a great way to cut calories and carbs. Livestrong.com averages that one brownie of 35 grams, can have at least 20 grams of carbohydrates in it.

Kale is a great ingredient to add in desserts. The sweetness of the dessert tends to cut out the bitterness associated with the leafy green. Also, if your kids aren’t a fan of kale, try our recipe for our delicious Brownie Points, they won’t even know it’s in there.  Cutting these ingredients in half or eliminating them can go a long way in helping you cut calories while enjoying sweet treats!

Photo Credit: WP Rawl

2.       Use a puree instead of the butter, oil or shortening!

Making a puree and cutting out half of the butter, oil or shortening in your favorite sweets can go a long way and help you stay on track with your weight loss and diet goals. Using kale, beets, and plant proteins like beans and lentils are great options for the “filler puree”.  

Using a puree also allows for you be sneaky with adding greens. These purees help hide the taste and texture of bitter veggies that people sometimes do not enjoy.

 3.       Mix leafy greens directly into the batter!

Make sure you get your daily 5 to 13 servings of fruits and veggies recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by adding kale or other leafy greens into your batter.

Finely chop kale and incorporate it into your dessert batters. This is a simple way to add some veggies into your baked goods, and make sure you get your daily 5 to 13 servings of fruits and veggies. Doing this makes the texture and flavor of the greens less noticeable in your sweet treats!

 4.       Use dessert recipes that accent kale aesthetically!

 We’ve talked about mixing greens into your dessert so that you cannot see them or taste them, but sometimes embracing the fact that you have added kale is not a bad thing!

Why not impress friends and family with their favorite sweets that have kale, but taste great? A great example of this is our Kale Key Lime Pie. Key Lime Pie has a strong flavor in general, so adding kale to this very tart dessert is easy and as simple as adding to the wiped filling.

Photo Credit: WP Rawl

Tips like these do not take a lot of time, baking skill, or effort. Making these simple changes will help you find ways to embrace starting a “Back to Fresh” journey.

Make sure to check out our website for hundreds of more great leafy green recipes. Follow along on our “Back to Fresh” journey on social media, and share your tips on dieting, weight loss, and healthy eating using the #BackToFresh hashtag!