I am definitely a flirt with this new way of eating. I have been really making an effort to eliminate all meat and dairy and have been trying to include greens. I have invested in a good blender that allows me to make breakfast smoothies using greens. I need some help with the variety and amounts of greens I should be eating and different ways to prepare them.  Also besides kale, collards and spinach what other things are considered "greens". Does broccoli and cabbage count as a "green"?
Also, I get discouraged sometimes with a lot of the other forum areas because it seems like a lot more people have been vegan or vegetarian for awhile. I am not labeling myself as anything yet but I am definitely more aware of what I eat these days. Don't want to eat processed foods but need help to keep variety and interest in my daily diet.

Arugula, chard, dandelion, and beet are some other common greens, plus there are many Asian greens that you should be able to find at a bigger farmers' market.  Because arugula is more delicate it's delicious in salads, but the others are tastier I think when cooked simply.  Sautee them with garlic and olive oil Italian style or ginger and sesame oil Asian style or use any seasoning and oil you like.  Greens are delicious when added to things like lasagna, enchiladas, frittatas, stews, and soups.  One of my favorite easy meals is to steam some greens (my favorites are collard or chard) and yams and serve them with some sauteed extra firm tofu with teriyaki sauce.  Greens are also great chopped up and cooked with any grains and/or any beans.   Eating greens always makes you feel like you're doing something good for yourself.  Good luck with your new healthy eating journey! 

Thanks for the advice Nancy
I will definitely try arugula, chard and beet greens. So far I have been having a lot of spinach and kale ( at least one serving each day) but I am ready for some variety. I will definitely try them the way you suggested.
Thanks again.

How do you make a green smoothie?  That sounds like an easier way to do the greens...

Jen - I'm one of those who have been vegan forever.....and I STILL have trouble with my greens!  I tried the sicilian collard recipe from the kind diet book - I used soy sauce/pumpkin seeds instead of balsamic/pine nuts.....just because I hate pine nuts - and I have to tell you, its like eating freakin' candy!  I CRAVE them now!  I also rely on a nice tahini - sauce - sometimes for me thats just taking a spoon of tahini and thinning it with a bit of water - and put it on any green that is not as tasty as I would wish -

Ann
Thanks for the encouragement. I will definitely try your suggestions too. I LOVE pumpkin seeds so that may be really be good for me.

Migrainista, I have a really good blender that blends my kale or spinach with whatever fruit I want to put in it so that it is really smooth and easy to drink. The best one I made so far was the following

2 c. spinach
2 bananas
2 c pineapple (I used canned pineapple in its own juice and added about half the juice too)
2 T flaxseed
1 T coconut oil
1 c. water (2 if you use fresh pineapple w/o juice)
1 c ice

I really liked this and it made enough so that I had an 8oz glass everyday for about 4 days. If you have a really good blender or juicer you can experiment with anything you want. I also find drinking it between meals is a good snack for me because it fills me up.

Jen, that smoothie recipe sounds AWESOME.  Thx for posting!!!

I highly recommend Sicilian Collards from KD cookbook!  I do want to pass along this caution:  Make sure the pine nuts are not from china, are not close to their expiration date and that you store them in the fridge after opening.  I got what turned out to be a case of "Pine Mouth" which I self-diagnosed with the help of this wonderful website!  I knew the mainstream docs would just want to know what type of lifestyle changes I'd recently made and I did not want my Vegan lifestyle under attack.  Once I heard about Pine Mouth I knew that was what I had.  Symptoms are a horrible metallic/bitter taste in the mouth that is so pervasive that it is all you can think about.  Nothing tastes good.  I was told it would last from 5-14 days.  Sure enough, on day 6 I was good as new.  It was a tough 5 days -- it's worse than you would imagine.  Apparently the rancid oil in the nuts (they tasted fine though) activates the bile in the liver and the metal taste is actually the bile in your bloodstream.  FYI

Thank you Cheryl!  I had no idea what was happening to me when I experienced the symptoms described above. It was horrible and now, with your help, I can make sure it never happens again.  Thanks!

Glad I could help!  This type of thing is evidence of how great this website is.  It's like a little "Like-Mind/Like-Experience Community" I had looked all over webMD and found nothing helpful.  I just put a little post here and someone with experience answered by describing pinemouth in such a way that I had no doubt about it.  What a blessing to know what's going on!  Best wishes to you . . .

We have been making green smoothies for a few months now and love them!  We try to mix it up every day with different fruit and greens, but also put in broccoli, a little celery, cucumber, carrots, etc.  There is no rhyme or reason to the amounts, we just put in what looks good and it has always come out great!  Other greens can be sauted with oil or water and garlic and that is always delish!  Also, greens are great mixed into vegetable stews and soups . . . even if the recipe calls for it we usually mix in almost 2-3 times what it asks for because we love it so much.  It is important to eat the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, chard, etc because those are the ones with the most cancer fighting nutrients.  Kale is like a miracle green!

My friend and I prepared our first vegetarian dinner for family tonight and one of the things I made was the Sicilian Collards recipe.  They turned out delicious.  (Thanks for the heads up on the pine mouth thing!  If it ever happens, now I know) 

When I start to run low on food around here, I may add the smoothie items to the grocery list.  Sounds good to me!  Thanks for posting.

What kind of blender do you guys use? I have a vitamix and whenever I make a smothie with greens in it especially kale it ends up very thick, coarse, and more like a chunky mess than a smoothie. Maybe I'm using too much greens or not enough liquid?? I also used dr. oz's recipe for a green smoothie and it was so pulpy even though I followed the recipe. 

I just tried the smoothie recipe mentioned above and it is really really delicious!  I cut mine in half in case it wasn't up my alley, but its def a keeper!

Sierra-I just have an Oster Fusion blender and it seemed to work really great on this.  I have no idea, but does it matter what order you put the ingredients in?  I put my greens in first, ice last.