How to Chop Leafy Greens + Tips

Let no food go to waste. That’s the motto these days. I love to cook from home but we all agree that it’s been more home meals lately. Everyone (and I mean everyone) has made a trip to the grocery and found several things out of stock. Frozen vegetables was one of them. I love frozen vegetables because of their convenience but lets not forget about fresh produce. It may not last as long but with proper handling you can make the most out of your produce. I’m showing you how to chop leafy greens plus I’m sharing a few other tips made with Nature’s Green’s Fresh bulk collard greens.

Why I love Nature’s Greens

Whenever I need good quality fresh collard, kale, mustard or turnip greens I can always rely on them.  There are two types of produce available, whole bulk items (like a bushel of greens) or you can buy packaged greens that are triple washed and pre cut. Both are great options and I seems to go back and forth between buying packaged vs whole. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been on preservation mode. I need everything to last as much as possible, including my food. That’s were buying whole produce comes in. It gives me so much range. 

Tips: How to Store Leafy Greens

Before getting into how to chop leafy greens I must start by sharing how to store leafy greens. It’s the most important step. Ever been ready to use fresh produce to only find that it has wilted? Same. I hate it when that happens so I make sure to store my greens properly when I bring them home. (Strong emphasis on when. I. Bring. Them. Home). Lost  count how many bunches of cilantro and kale I’ve wasted because I said I would store them later. It’s super wasteful and honestly more expensive because I have to go get more food.  

Don’t be like me.

Properly store you fresh greens (like collards) in a plastic bag or air tight container. The same thing goes for kale and spinach (you can add a paper towel to retain all the moisture, replace the paper towel when it’s completely wet). Your greens will last for about 4-5 days. Spinach can last even longer for about a week. 

How to Wash Leafy Greens

Wash collard greens. Fold the collard greens in half, lengthwise. Cut out the stem of each collard green leaf. To save more time cutting stack several collard green leaves onto of each other, flat. Fold the stack in half (lengthwise). Take one corner and roll with your hands to form one big roll of greens. Using your knife cut quarter of an inch thick strips.

After cutting your greens, you can keep the stems. Transform them but my making a pesto, blend green stems into your smoothies or braise stems just as you would regular collard greens.