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Nutrition Facts: What is chard?

Chard is a great source Chard—along with kale, mustard greens and collard greens—is one of: of several leafy green vegetables often referred to as "greens". It is a  Vitamin K, tall leafy green vegetable with a Manganese, and thick, crunchy stalk that comes in a variety of colors including white, Magnesium, red, yellow and orange. Different necessary for bone- colored varieties are sometimes building bunched together and labeled "rainbow chard.”  Antioxidants A, E and C for a healthy What does it taste like? immune system Chard belongs to the same family  Heart-healthy as beets and spinach and shares a potassium similar flavor profile that is bitter, pungent, and slightly salty.  Energy-producing iron Fun Facts!

It is also a very good  Chard is known by many other names such as Swiss chard, source of: silverbeet, perpetual spinach, spinach beet, crab beet, bright lights, seakale beet, strawberry spinach, Roman kale, leaf  bone-healthy beat, and mangold. In South Africa, it is simply called spinach. copper and calcium The word “chard” however, originally comes from the Latin word  Energy-producing cardus which means thistle.

vitamin B2 and  Chard is not only one of the most popular vegetables along the vitamin B6 Mediterranean, but it is one of the most nutritious vegetables  Muscle-building in the world and ranks second only to spinach in total nutrient- richness. protein  Heart-healthy  The tall leafy vegetable is a part of the goosefoot family -- aptly dietary fiber named because the leaves resemble a goose’s foot. Other members are beets and spinach. Even though chard is related to beets, its roots are inedible. One cup of cooked chard contains only about 35 calories. 

How To Prepare CHARD HOW TO:

STORE: Do not How to Choose Chard: wash chard before storing. Place chard Chard leaves should be crisp and bright. in a plastic bag Stalks should be firm. Different varieties have different tastes so experiment with wrapped tightly what you prefer. Chard with red stems around the chard, tend to be sweeter but tougher. squeezing out as much air from the How to Prepare Chard: bag as possible Just before you use the chard, before sealing. thoroughly clean it by swishing in a bowl Place in refrigerator of cold water until all dirt falls off. Rinse where it will keep and pat dry. Remove stems and thick fresh for up to 5 ribs from leaves and chop separately as these will need more time to cook. Chop days. leaves into bite-sized pieces. Add leaves a minute or two after stems when cooking. FREEZE: To freeze, remove stems, wash and chop the Vegetable Quesadillas leaves. Blanch (boil for 2 mins. followed Ingredients: by a cold ice bath 1. Add ½ teaspoon oil to the pan. for 2 mins. as well),  1 tsp vegetable or olive oil 2. Cook vegetables on medium heat for 4-5 drain and pat them  1 small zucchini or other minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from dry. Place in an summer squash (washed, pan. airtight containers chopped) 3. Add ½ teaspoon oil to the pan. Place tortilla or freezer bag.  ½ bunch kale (washed, in the pan. Sprinkle with half the vegetables Freeze immediately. chopped) and half of the cheese. 4. Place the other tortilla on top. Cook on  ½ bunch swiss chard medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until the (washed and chopped) Prepared by Hopelink cheese starts to melt and the bottom tortilla Volunteers  1 small onion (peeled, starts to brown. chopped) References: 5. Flip quesadilla. Cook for 4 minutes or until 1. Current page photo:  4 whole wheat tortillas Jonathunder / Foter.com / tortilla browns. CC BY-SA (10-inch) 6. Repeat steps 3-5. 2. Front small photo: Magalie L'Abbé / Foter.com / CC BY-  1 cup shredded cheddar 7. Cut each quesadilla in half. Serve with NC 3. Front large photo: cheese salsa! timsackton / Foter.com / CC BY-SA 4. Other data:  ½ cup salsa www.whfoods.com