What are you doing with all that swiss chard?
I planted a lot of swiss chard this year, and I love it because it keeps coming back all season after harvesting. I have several ways to eat swiss chard, and I love the health benefits you get from it. I will break down how I plant, harvest, preserve and even throw in my favorite ways I use my swiss chard.
Growing Tips
This year I planted my swiss chard 2 ways. Starting them from seed in my greenhouse and also direct sowing them. I found that the direct sowing method worked out better for me. If you want to strategically place your swiss card in empty places in your garden beds, it might be easier to plant your started seedlings. I grew mine in a row and spaced them pretty close together. I like to harvest them when they are younger and more tender.
I planted 4 seedlings, and only one survived the attack of the rabbits. I could have taken better precautions and covered my plants with row cover, but sometimes you're a day late, and your greens are topped off.
Harvesting
You should always try to harvest your garden early morning before the hottest part of the day. This will ensure the fruit or leaves in this instant is fully hydrated and will then stay looking and tasting better longer.
I use my pruning shears to take off the outer leaves, encouraging more growth and keeping the plant producing all season. If the outer leaves are suffering from pest damage or wilt, I remove them and continue harvesting the leaves on the outside. When leaving some foliage behind, the plant will continue to produce more leaves through photosynthesis.
Preservation
All of the Swiss chard that I do not eat fresh will be preserved by the freezing method. I blanch my food before freezing to stop the actions of the enzyme. This also helps keep the taste, texture, and color.
Blanching:
The timing I blanch my greens depends on how delicate they are. Swiss chard is a bit tougher, similar to kale, so I process them the same way.
You can steam or submerge your greens into boiling water for approximately 3 minutes and then quickly cool them off in an ice bath. This will stop the blanching process to prevent them from becoming too soggy. When you freeze any type of green leafy vegetable, they are no longer suitable for fresh eating. They are better utilized in casseroles and soups.
Packing:
After blanching, I will drain off the access liquid and lay it out on towels to help absorb some of the moisture. I then use my mini muffin tin and pack them into small portions. This will give me approximately 2 tbs portions for easy measuring when cooking my recipes.
Once completely frozen, I simply pop them from the muffin tin, and put them into freezer bags, then they are ready to be used when needed.
How I use my Swiss Chard
We eat a lot of the swiss chard fresh by chopping the green leaves for use in a mixed salad or sauteing them with onions for wilted greens. The stems I incorporate in soups and stews or chop them very fine in place of celery. My daughter loves eating stems raw in place of celery with peanut butter.
I use the frozen swiss chard in soups or stews or add them to casseroles to add color and texture. We also use the green leaves that are frozen in smoothies and popsicles.
Recipes:
Swiss smoothie/popsicles
Sautee swiss greens
Swiss chard/potato caserole
Chickpea swiss chard salad
Swiss Chard Nutrition:
Swiss chard has nutrients such as:
Vitamin K
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Magnesium.
Iron
Copper
Potassium
Calcium
Vitamin E
Swiss chard is very low in calories, so when incorporated into your diet can help aid in weight management.
It also contains antioxidants that can help protect cells from damaging free radicals.
Let us not forget about fiber which your gut bacteria loves, creating a healthy gut microbiome. Overall, Swiss chard is very beneficial for your health. For more information on the health benefits of Swiss chard, check out healthline.com for a breakdown of all its benefits.
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