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So, I've planted more greens and lettuce in the garden this season than ever before. We are growing Buttercrunch, Amish Deer Tongue, Ariana, Cimarron, Glorious Greens Mix, White Russian Kale, Swiss Chard, Mustard, Beet greens, a few different varieties of spinach, and a few Asian varieties. And, while we've been cooking or juicing greens, and eating plenty of fresh salad, we still have more greens than you can shake a stick at. Now, we do have farm animals, so rather than letting something spoil in the garden or fridge, it gets applied back into the circle of life.
A few years back, we invested in the Nesco Gardenmaster dehydrator. While it was still new we experimented with drying out everything from strawberries to sweet potatoes, then stored them in mylar.
It was my daughter that suggested the lettuce and greens could be dehydrated, and ground into a "green protein powder". So, after dehydrating, the crispy green matter goes into the Ninja blender and gets until it's in powder form. As of now, we are adding the powder to smoothies... or atop anything. It tastes delicious, has a ton of nutrients, and uses up greens that we otherwise wouldn't be able to consume.
While the nutrients will degrade over time, like anything that is processed and stored, it makes a convenient survival food source. Just a tablespoon of this is like eating 3 servings of greens!
We have been growing, drying, and powdering our own herbs for awhile now, so I don't know how it could have escaped me to do this to greens. But this year, I processed my turmeric in a similar way. After peeling, I sliced it thinly, dehydrated, and ground it to a fine, bright powder. I'm really excited about the money I'm saving by gardening and processing my own foods, herbs this way. But, when you realize the benefits these practices have on your health, and potential for survival in certain situations, it multiplies the wow-factor.
A few years back, we invested in the Nesco Gardenmaster dehydrator. While it was still new we experimented with drying out everything from strawberries to sweet potatoes, then stored them in mylar.
It was my daughter that suggested the lettuce and greens could be dehydrated, and ground into a "green protein powder". So, after dehydrating, the crispy green matter goes into the Ninja blender and gets until it's in powder form. As of now, we are adding the powder to smoothies... or atop anything. It tastes delicious, has a ton of nutrients, and uses up greens that we otherwise wouldn't be able to consume.
While the nutrients will degrade over time, like anything that is processed and stored, it makes a convenient survival food source. Just a tablespoon of this is like eating 3 servings of greens!
We have been growing, drying, and powdering our own herbs for awhile now, so I don't know how it could have escaped me to do this to greens. But this year, I processed my turmeric in a similar way. After peeling, I sliced it thinly, dehydrated, and ground it to a fine, bright powder. I'm really excited about the money I'm saving by gardening and processing my own foods, herbs this way. But, when you realize the benefits these practices have on your health, and potential for survival in certain situations, it multiplies the wow-factor.