Fresh is Best

* Tatsoi

I am one of those fabulously lucky women who has a green guru to whom I can bounce off questions and get awesome answers pretty quickly.

I know fresh is best, but is freezing really a huge no-no?

I asked the question:

"With regard to green smoothies & stand-alone smoothies, is freezing partial ingredients a no-no? As in freezing leafy greens and parsley."

The reply:

"Hi Danuta,

The secret of really medicinal green smoothies is absolute freshness of all
ingredients.  However, I would say that if something like freezing is easier
then go for it but it is not something that I would do or would recommend
but I think we all have such difficult and busy lives it is better to have
frozen than not at all."

We do all lead busy lives, where fast is good, but not necessarily best.

During the summer months, it is easy to buy fresh produce at the local market on a more frequent basis.  However, don't keep greens in the fridge for too long. The maximum number of days should be three.

During the winter months, when produce is far more difficult to obtain, and freezing is the only most viable option, then it is better doing that and drinking green smoothies, than not.

This summer, I have a garden bed full of kale and chard plants which are growing large and giving out lots of leaves at quite an impressive rate. One or two of these leaves, together with cucumber and celery and I have my green smoothie pretty fresh from the garden.

My plan is to plant more winter greens for the winter months.  Winter greens are full of nutrients and are a valuable addition to your winter table. Winter greens include kale, chard, cress, turnip greens and spinach.

I am learning about tatsoi which is an Asian green similar to bok choy. It grows in a pretty rosette shape and is easy to grow. I'll look for it as a seedling, plant it and try it out in my smoothies.

* Tatsoi - photo from ngb.org