Top 10 List of Greens From Most Nutritious To Least.
WebMD top 10
- Kale: This nutrition powerhouse “offers everything you want in a leafy green. It’s an excellent source of vitaminsA C, and K, has a good amount of calcium for a vegetable, and also supplies folate and potassium. Kale’s ruffle-edged leaves may range in color from cream to purple to black depending on the variety. Great for juicing but before juicing or cooking with kale, collards, turnips, and chard, it is recommended to swishing the greens in a water-filled sink, draining the sink, then repeating this rinse until the leaves are dirt -free. A favorite cooking method for these four greens is to rub the leaves in olive oil or tahini (sesame paste) and cook them for five minutes with garlic, olive oil, and broth.
- Collards: Collard greens are similar in nutrition to kale. But they have a heartier and chewier texture and a stronger cabbage-like taste. The wide leaves can be used as a wrapper instead of tortillas or bread. A half cup has 25 calories.
- Turnip greens: Buy turnips with the tops on, you get two vegetables in one. More tender than other greens and needing less cooking, this sharp-flavored leaf is low in calories yet loaded with vitamins A,C, and K as well as calcium.
- Swiss chard: With red stems, stalks, and veins on its leaves, Swiss chard has a beet-like taste and soft texture that’s perfect for juicing and sauteeing. Both Swiss chard and spinach contain oxalates, which are slightly reduced by cooking and can bind to calcium, a concern for people prone to kidney stones. Chard contains 15 calories in one-half cup and is a good source of vitamins A and C. Sweet-and-sour chard made by adding raisins and vinegar to the cooked greens.
- Spinach: Popeye’s favorite vegetable has 20 calories per serving, plus it’s packed with vitamins A and C, as well as folate. And because heat reduces the green’s oxalate content, freeing up its dietary calcium cooked spinach gives you more nutrition than raw. Spinach leaves can be cooked quickly in the water that remains on them after rinsing, or they can be eaten raw in salads and juicing. Bags of frozen chopped spinach are more convenient to use than block kinds, and this mild-flavored vegetable can be added to soups, pasta dishes, and casseroles.
- Mustard greens: Similar nutrition profile to turnip leaves and collards, mustard greens have scalloped edges and come in red and green varieties. They have a peppery taste and give off a mustardy smell during cooking. Their spiciness can be toned down by adding an acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, toward the end of cooking. Cooked mustard greens have 10 calories in one-half cup.
- Broccoli: With 25 calories a serving, broccoli is rich in vitamin C and is also a good source of vitamin A, potassium, and folate. Kids call this veggie “trees,” they often like it best raw or steamed with a yogurt-based dip. Add fresh broccoli into pasta during the last three minutes of cooking so both are ready at the same time.
- Red and Green Leaf and Romaine Lettuce: A familiar sight in salad bowls, these lettuces are high in vitamin A and offer some folate. Leaf lettuces have a softer texture than romaine, a crunchy variety used in Caesar salads. Fans of Iceberg lettuce may go for romaine, a crispy green that’s better for you. The darker the lettuce leaf, the more nutrition it has, making red leaf slightly healthier than green. One cup contains 10 calories
- Cabbage: Although paler in color than other leafy greens, this cruciferous vegetable is a great source of cancer-fighting compounds and vitamin C. This versatile green “the workhorse of the kitchen has red and green varieties, cabbage can be cooked, added raw to salads or stir fries, shredded into a slaw, or made into sauerkraut. One-half cup cooked has 15 calories.
- Iceberg Lettuce: This bland-tasting head lettuce is mostly water. It’s not devoid of all nutrition, but it’s pretty close, it can be a starter green to draw you into a broader array of salad greens.