January’s Featured Food:
Collard Greens

Joanne Milkereit, a registered dietitian since 1974 and Certified Diabetes Educator, has varied and extensive experience in the nutrition field. Joanne serves as a Lowcountry Food Bank Board Member and Chairwoman on the Nutrition Committee.

From 1984 to 2001, Joanne was with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). There she developed and directed the American Dietetic Association dietetic internship, provided medical nutrition therapy for patients, participated in nutrition education for health professionals and was a member of MUSC’s Geriatric Assessment Team. Her published research is in education techniques for achieving diet goals.

Joanne is co-author of a cookbook, wrote a weekly newspaper column for one of Chicago’s neighborhood newspapers for six years and has appeared on nearly 100 T.V. shows. A member of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), Joanne has been an officer in ADA organizations at the local, state and national levels. On three occasions ADA organizations have honored her as Outstanding Dietitian of the Year and have presented her both the Commendation Award and the Meritorious Award.

Currently a Charleston, SC resident, Joanne enjoys cooking with her grandchildren as she teaches them the tasty pleasures of eating well.

Past Issues

Eat Well, Be Well ~ Notes from Joanne

This traditional “Soul Food” is among the healthiest of foods. Collards are rich in vitamins, calcium and fiber while low in calories and virtually fat-free and salt-free.

Health, Wealthy and Wise: Collards can bring good lunck in a new way
[Teresa Taylor, Post and Courier, December 28, 2005]
The Lowcountry Food Bank has recruited farmers to grow vegetables for the food bank year-round, beginning with collard greens that are in the ground now. In addition to feeding the hungry and supporting farmers, the food bank hopes to increase the percentage of healthy food it distributes. Read More >>>

About Collards
[Teresa Taylor, Post and Courier, December 28, 2005]
Collards belong to the cabbage family, but are better known as greens. Greens are any sort of cabbage in which the leaves do not form a compact head. They are mostly kale, collards, turnip, spinach and mustard greens. Read More >>>

And the winner is . . .

Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) volunteer Mabel Porterfield won December’s Collard Green Cooking Contest. Her recipe “Collards on the Low Down” is reprinted here. The contest was held to honor the first crop from LCFB’s Growing Food Locally program. Three thousand pounds of fresh, local collards became available to LCFB agencies beginning the first week in December.

Ask a dozen Lowcountry cooks how they prepare collards. It’s likely you’ll get a dozen different answers. Here are some of the suggestions that keep these super-nutritious vegetables healthy.

  • Use chicken broth as the cooking liquid. Our runner-up recipe used fat-free, salt-free chicken broth. Add onions, garlic and pepper and you won’t miss the salt, fat and meat traditionally used.
  • Use canned, chopped tomatoes as the cooking liquid. Two of our contest’s judges liked the red color (as well as the taste) the tomatoes added.
  • After cleaning the collards, finely chop the stems. Simmer them for 30 – 45 minutes before adding the chopped leaves.
  • Teresa Taylor,* Food Editor, The Post and Courier, sautés young collards briefly (5 – 10 minutes) in oil and garlic. She adds vinegar before serving.
  • Freeze cooked collards. Reheat or add to bean soup and other dishes listing greens as an ingredient.

Judges for the Collard Green Contest: (from left) Mike Lata, Chef and Owner of the FIG restaurant, Teresa Taylor, Food Editor at The Post and Courier, and Woody Arsenault, Piggly Wiggly and LCFB's Board Member.

The criteria for recipes was: use ingredients common in the Lowcountry Kitchens, are tasty and easy to prepare, and meet our criteria of healthy food (do not contain more than 1 tsp. of fat per serving).

Collards on the Down Low

1 bunch collards (3 – 4 pounds)
1 cup water1 ½ pounds (or less)
97% - 99% fat-free boneless ham, cut into ¾ “ squares
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 – 4 Tbsp. vinegar

Add water to a large pot. Add meat. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

To prepare collards, look at and clean each leaf removing bad spots and anything “moving or inching around”. Then wash the leaves thoroughly (2 -3 times) to remove sand and dirt. Chop the greens. Place them in the pot with the meat. Add the onion, peppers and vinegar.

Continue to simmer for 45 minutes or until leaves are tender. Stir occasionally so they cook evenly.

Submitted by Mabel Porterfield who suggests serving the cooked collards on cooked rice with corn bread on the side.

Buying, storing and washing greens (Tips from Clemson Extension)

  • When selecting greens, remember that they cook down a good bit. An 8 lb. bunch will make 8 – 10 servings.
  • Wrap fresh greens in damp paper towels. Place them in a perforated plastic bag. Refrigerate. They should keep for a week.
  • Wash greens thoroughly. Place them in a sink filled with lukewarm water and swish around. Luke warm water helps to remove the dirt faster than cooler water.
  • To freeze collards, wash thoroughly and remove the thick rib. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool, drain and package. Freeze.


  

The Health Connnection

The American Cancer Society states that 1/3 of cancer deaths in the United States are due to what we eat. In one study the people who ate the most vegetables had ½ the risk for cancer as those who ate the least. Dark, leafy greens (including collards) are among the best cancer fighters.

A special note to women who might become pregnant. Getting enough folate (one of the B vitamins) is especially important. Getting enough folate is essential for fetuses as they develop their spinal columns. Collards, like other dark, leafy greens, contain good amounts of folate.

Make your diet a cancer fighter (it’ll have fewer calories and may make your heart healthier, too)

  • Write down what you plan to eat for a meal later today.
  • How can you change the meal to make it a better cancer fighter?
  • Make that change. Example:
  • Planned meal

Fried chicken leg 1 cup boiled white rice

½ cup collards

2 cookies

  • Cancer Fighter Change
Baked or grilled chicken leg, no skin

1 small baked sweet potato

1 cup collards

1 fresh apple

What is a “Food of the Month”?

Our “Food of the Month” is a product available in our Lowcountry Food Bank's warehouses. It is one that meets our criteria of a healthy food.

What is a LCFB “Healthy Food”?

Healthy foods are fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meat and poultry, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and foods that do not contain excessive amounts of fat or caloric sweeteners.

How are our recipes designed?
Our recipes are designed with the clients of our agencies in mind: those who are hungry and poor.
The recipes:

  • Use ingredients common in Lowcountry kitchens.
  • Are tasty and easy to prepare.
  • Meet our criteria for a healthy food.
  • Limit high priced herbs and spices which may included as optional ingredients.

We’d Like to Hear from You
We encourage your comments. They will help us understand concerns and interests of those who use “Eat Well; Be Well”.
We’re sorry but we are unable to answer individual messages.

***This feature has been developed by Joanne Milkereit, RD, CDE for the Lowcountry Food