I Love Greens! Protein is Green.

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Protein. The word “protein” comes from the Greek “proteios”, meaning “of prime importance”. Yet, like written in “The China Study“, “The story of protein is part science, part culture, and a good dose of mythology.”

Nowadays, a lot of us know that we don’t need as much protein as has been stated for a long time – until now. Quite the contrary: the China Study and many more studies have shown that eating lots of protein promotes cancer and other diseases.

Whereby “lots” means: more than your body needs (between 2 and 5% max.). And: this only refers to animal protein!

Though this has been shown in many studies, people still believe in the myth of needing lots of protein, especially animal protein. Not least, probably, because of the mighty voices of meat and pharma industry, promoting animal protein in higher doses … and earning well by people following their recommendations.

You can easily get enough protein from vegan food, without even having to think about it. A diet of raw, vegan, unprocessed food will give you all the protein your body needs.

Fruit has about 2% protein – same as breastmilk, allowing a baby to triple their weight within their first year! Never in your life you will need that much protein again!

Greens are even higher in protein, plus many more benefits, as you will learn from this post.

Nuts and seeds are that high in protein (and fat), you’d better take care not to eat too many of them. Plus, there are lots of superfoods, protein powders, to add to your diet – though you definitely don’t need to take any, and if you decide to do so, you’d better do this in moderation to not overload your body.

Green is Chlorophyll – as Ann Wigmore stated: the protein of the future.

Green is high in fiber. If anyone is asking you “where do you get your protein from” you’d best ask them back “where do you get your fiber from?” … as eating to few fiber is a much more common, and much bigger, problem in most people’s diet. In Germany, 30g of fiber per day are recommended. In the US, it’s only 20. Yet our ancestors consumed about 100g fiber per day! Your body needs fiber, to keep the intestines clean and healthy. Besides, they are filling and will prevent you from overeating.

Greens are high in minerals, vitamines etc. your body needs!

What kinds of edible greens are there?

Wild edibles, wild herbs. Lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, parsley and other herbs, green vegetable fruit like zucchini and cucumber. Seaweed – either freshly harvested, or dried and soaked before consumption. Leaves of trees (fruit trees, linden, beech etc.). Leaves of blackberries, which you will find even in winter! Moss, also to be found in winter.

Sprouts. Grow your own sprouts, from alfalfa, sunflower seeds, or whatever you like. It’s easy, does not take much time and space, and you will always have really fresh greens ready to eat!

In cases of emergency, or to be added occassionaly, you will find several microgreens like spirulina, chlorella, barley gras and so on. Spread them on top of your meals, or add them to your smoothies.

What is the best way to add more greens to your diet?

I recommend to have greens with each meal, and to always start your meals with greens.

If you are not (yet) happy with eating greens on their own, you might like to wrap fruit or vegetables, and/or enjoy the greens with a nice dipp. You can find lots of yummy recipes for dipps and sauces in my ebooks.

But be careful! If something really tastes (or smells) ugly for you, especially when it’s some wild plant, don’t eat it! Listen to your body and its instincts. If you are sure it is something edible (like dandelion e. g. ) try again another day – your body’s needs will change, and you might need to get used to natural tastes, mainly the bitter taste. Years of following a standard diet have shaped your sense of taste, and there are almost no bitter substances left in the standard lettuces.

In my early days with eating raw, about 13 years ago, i used to have a big bowl of salad for dinner: a big bunch of parsley, and spinach, combined with avocado, olive oil, olives, tomatoes, and salt. I reduced the salt over those first weeks, and i don’t use to eat any salt, nor oil, anymore – but yeah, it’s a way to begin!

Nowadays, i really love greens, and while others like to snack upon a bag of chips, i really enjoy a bag of spinach, or lamb’s lettuce.

So here are some images of my green meals – breakfasts and dinner (i eat twice a day, around midday and early evening) – hope you’ll find them inspiring.