Sweet Chard

I know I get excited about things that most of my acquaintance could care less about, but still…Is chard not glorious?  Look at the color on those stems! True artwork.  After picking this stuff out of the garden the other day (I love that I get to do that!) I just needed to stop and have a chard appreciation post.

If you are still reading after THAT intro… here is a little information I dug up on the lovely Swiss Chard:

• It’s not Swiss at all, but Mediterranean in Origin
• It’s in the Chenopod (flowering plant) family, sibling to beets, spinach, and quinoa.
• One cup of cooked chard has over 700% of your daily recommended amount of  bone-building Vitamin K. (So, having a dinner with this makes up for non-vegetable nights like, pizza night, nacho night, cereal night, hot chocolate night, etc.)
• It’s an excellent source of Vitamin A (supposed to be good for your eyes)
• Chard has great anti-inflammatory properties (chronic low-level inflammation in the body increases risk of atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and forms of arthritis… none of which I’m interested in, thank you very much.)

So, as you can see, our girl chardy has both inner and outer beauty!

My youngest daughter and I just planted 30, or so, more seedlings, so I’m sure there will be more cooking with chard to come. I can almost hear the complaining now, but I’m going to be strong in the face of adversity, people. Don’t worry.