Collard greens are one of the healthiest foods you can put into your body, but cooked greens emit a sulfurous smell and taste that turns many people off who aren’t used to eating dark green vegetables. The solution? Rolling up raw collard green halves with a rich, moist, acne-friendly stuffing for a quick-to-make, easy-to-transport, fast-and-healthy snack. They are truly delicious this way.
The most important ingredient for a successfully tasty collard green wrap? Moisture! The recipes below use avocado, hummus, or olive oil to give a creamy consistency that works well against the crunchiness of the collard greens.
To assemble: Trim off and throw away the stem of a collard green to make a “V,” then cut the leaf in half. Place 1/2 – 3/4 cup of whatever you want to stuff your greens with in the middle of the leaf and roll up. You can bite into a long roll, cut it in half, or cut it into 1-inch portions (sushi style).
These are some make-ahead meal ideas straight from my lunchtime repertoire:
- 1 avocado cut into slices
- 1 organic carrot cut into sticks
- 1 organic cucumber cut into sticks
- 2 cups cooked brown rice preferably sprouted
- 8 oz. sushi-grade salmon (or halibut or tuna)
- 4 organic collard green leaves trimmed of stalk and cut into 8 halves
- wasabi and coconut aminos (for dipping)
- Spread 1/4 cup brown rice into the middle of one collard green leaf half.
- Top with 1 avocado slice, 2 Tb. carrot sticks, 2 Tb. cucumber sticks, and 1/4 cup of fish or mushrooms to each collard green half.
- Roll up collard green. Repeat with remaining 7 collard green halves.
- Cut each collard green roll into 1-inch sections (see instructions above).
- Mix wasabi into coconut aminos for dipping.
- 2 cups store-bought or homemade hummus made with olive oil
- 2 cups cooked quinoa preferably sprouted
- 1 organic zucchini cut into sticks
- 4 organic collard green leaves trimmed of stalk and cut into 8 halves
- Spread 1/4 cup hummus into the middle of one collard green leaf half.
- Top with 1/4 cup cooked quinoa and 1/4 cup zucchini sticks.
- Roll up collard green. Repeat with remaining 7 collard green halves.
- Cut each collard green roll in half (see instructions above).
| Servings |
| 8 servings |
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Kimberly Snyder’s book “The Beauty Detox Solution” is the first place I ever heard of a collard green roll and I credit her for making me a total convert. This is a great starter recipe, which is nice and moist from the olive oil in the jarred sun-dried tomatoes.
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- 1 cup raw unsalted macadamia nuts soaked in water at least 24 hours
- 8 oz. jar sulfite-free sun-dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil
- 1 lemon (juice of)
- 1/4 cup organic parsley
- 1 tsp. Celtic or Himalayan sea salt
- 4 organic collard green leaves trimmed of stalk and cut into 8 halves
- sprouts
- Drain the macadamia nuts. Place the soaked macadamia nuts, sun-dried tomatoes with oil, lemon juice, parsley, and sea salt in the food processor and blend until pureed.
- Spread 1/2 cup mixture into the middle of one collard green leaf. Top with sprouts.
- Roll up collard green. Repeat with remaining 7 collard green halves.
- Cut each collard green roll in half (see instructions above).
With these three no-cook meals in your arsenal, you should be able to get healthy greens in your diet most days of the week. Which one are you going to try first?
Do you have any ideas of your own on great ways to use collard greens?
Share them in the comments below!
Alissa
Clean Eating for Clear Skin team
Photo and adapted recipe credit: Jordan Breal, Sodium Girl, Kimberly Snyder
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