I've been there. I have the genes to find most greens dreadfully bitter. So I made kale chips, which are terrific, but I don't know if they retain the nutrients. And things rolled in chard instead of cabbage...but I can't choke down the chard. I have no issues with spinach and arugula—actually like them (no bitter)—so try to always have some washed and ready and throw handfuls in sandwiches, on top of pasta, etc. Tried to make beans and greens, but none will eat them. I do make breakfast crustless quiche with broccoli or broccolini, which makes it okay. Lightly sautéed broccolini (less than 1/2” chopped), onion and red pepper flakes is a favorite pizza topping, but not a big serving of greens.

I realized a couple years ago that without eating out, I really wasn't getting enough greens. I also started getting farm boxes. If it weren't for the bitterness, I'd prefer to eat greens raw. I guess I was inspred by juices and smoothies, but know how important chewing and saliva is. I invented my ”green glug” (“yard trimmings” from the snark side). I get organics from the farm and make it weekly, keeping it in an airtight pitcher. Chard, kale, spinach, basil, a small apple, half an English cucumber, and whatever other greens are around: beet greens, dandelion greens (red aren't as bad), collards, radish, etc. Run in a large jar Vitamix on low to a chopped mass that still requires chewing. The apple and cucumber lend moisture so the blender will run, and, along with the spinach, sweetness to mellow the bitter. Half to a whole cup, twice a day, in a glass of water with Ceylon cinnamon (the kind you can eat a lot of) to help disguise the bitter as well, and some soluble fiber powder just for giggles. It looks bad, but tastes a lot better than any other way I've tried to ingest them. It usually just tastes green, but if it turns out bitter (rarely) I add a goodly dollop of raw avocado honey. Not enough to taste sweet, but sweet enough to neutralize the bitter. After, good floss and waterpik. ;)

I am in a spinach rut. Love it all ways....raw in a salad with bacon, mushrooms red onion and a sweet red hot dressing, or with strawberries and a dijon balsamic dressing, or layered in the bottom of a quiche, or my favorite lately, wok-ed spinach. I wash and if there are tough stems remove them, pat dry, grate a good large handful of parm reg, chop up a couple of cloves of garlic, and remove the seeds form a halved lemon and heat up the wok, put in about 2 T olive oil, add the garlic and cook briefly, like 30s econds or less, add the spinach tossing to coat with oil and when it is wilted add the parmesan and as queeze of lemon. After the prep takes ;like 3 minutes by the clock to cook.

That also works with swss chard, which I don't find bitter at all when picked young enough.

Collard greens are also good but I think you have to grow them, never seen them in a store.

They have collards and all the rest in regular supermarkets here, even though I get them in my farm box. Linda, do you think they don't have them in the stores there because people are growing their own?

I grow a great many greens--chard, senposai, collards, kale, gailan, Asian mustards, etc. I use them in a wide variety of ways--young ( youngish) thinnings added to lettuce for salads; sauteed with garlic and often an Asian inspired sauce on top; added to beans, lentils, stews and soups; in tortillas with lots of cheese, etc.

I think it's very rare to find collards in stores because they wilt fast and very badly. But here's a tip; I freeze all my greens for winter in small packages that can be used in the ways described above. Perhaps freezing them and using them later would help with the bitterness you describe, though I have never found any greens to be bitter except perhaps kale.

Cabbages are delicious. The pointy spring ones that you can just sauté in a little butter. The wrinkly dark ones that you cook in a tiny bit of water, butter and garlic, the white ones that you can eat raw, (after salting is better) love them.

Laceyvail, the bitterness is from certain genes that cause people to perceive it. About some vegetables, I used to wonder, ”Can’t they taste that?” The answer was no, they literally can't. There are three genes which cause one to sense three different compounds. If one has two alleles of one of the genes the bitterness is extreme. One allele and it is perceived but in a more temperate, complexity of flavor, way. It was a member here in CF who suggested I might have the genes, so I got the tests. That's why I started by saying I had the genes. Unlike many who have both alleles, I can make myself eat the greens, but they require disguising so they don't scream ”poison”. I hoped my ways of doing so might help Lizbeth some.

My son has been vegan for a while, and I realized we were always using the same small selection of vegetables over and over again. I got this book called "The Vegetable Butcher" that isn't really a cookbook (although there are some recipes in it). It's all about how to select, prep and use all kinds of vegetables. I realized I was intimidated by certain vegetables bc I didn't know how to prep them or what some of them were well suited to in terms of recipes. For example, I didn't know how to use hearty greens like Swiss chard, or things like leeks, bok choy, or certain mushrooms, or how to cook with them. I really like this book, it's very informative and is beautifully illustrated too.

We love Swiss Chard, spinach, brussels sprouts, arugula, radicchio, escarole. I haven't used mustard or collard greens before, but I'm planning to try them in some recipes.

Here are some of my favorites:

Braised Rainbow Chard (side dish)

Serves 4

3 minced cloves garlic

1 t olive oil

2 heads rainbow chard, chopped into 1” pieces

1 cup organic chicken or vegetable broth

In a large pan on medium heat, gently sweat the garlic in the olive oil.

Add in the chard and stir so you help the leaves wilt.

Add in the broth and cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid is mostly dissolved.

Season with sea salt and pepper if desired. Note: you can up the garlic, or add shallots, chives, etc. Very flexible and you can add in what you want.

Mediterranean White Bean Soup with Spinach (I usually use Swiss Chard instead of spinach in this. I add it in earlier bc it takes longer to cook)

Serves 6

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 large carrots, chopped

2-3 celery ribs, chopped

6 cups vegetable broth

1 t dried thyme

½ t dried oregano

1 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

3 15-ounce canned white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chopped spinach

Fresh parsley

Grated parmesan cheese for serving

In a large pot or saucepan, heat olive over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable broth and beans, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes to combine all of the flavors together. Stir in the spinach and continue to simmer until the spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve immediately.

I use Swiss Chard in minestrone, bean and vegetable soups even if the recipe doesn't call for a green. Any pasta dish that is going to be tossed with vegetables, I throw in chopped spinach or Swiss Chard with a little extra broth or water to wilt the chard.

Here's a recipe I posted in 2009 for Collard Greens.

These days I do not always boil the greens before sautéing them, but if I do, I only boil them for about 5 minutes. I do always remove the stems/ribs, however, as those are tough.

I sauté a lot of green vegetables, and I use a very large skillet with high sides or else a wok. Kale is one of my favorites to cook this way, and I add garlic to it and serve it with grated Romano cheese.

When I sauté spinach, I generally include mushrooms and onion, and I start with onion, then add the mushrooms, and lastly the spinach. I used to remove the stems from the spinach, but I don't bother to do that anymore, but I do slice the larger leaves and remove the stems from those but not from the smaller leaves. I also like bacon with spinach.

If you go to different ethnic neighborhoods, you may find different green vegetables. It is easier for me to find Napa cabbage at a Japanese market, and it is likely to be fresher. I find bok choy everythere, however, and often use that in soups.

My favorite way to cook cabbage is in Okonomiyaki. Here's the recipe I use.

I use Napa cabbage to make cabbage rolls and kimchee, and I use green cabbage to make sauerkraut. I used to confuse Savoy cabbage with green cabbage, but now I make sure that I only use green cabbage when making sauerkraut. I go through a lot of sauerkraut and kimchee, and kimchee requires Napa cabbage.

I love when the beets I buy come with beautiful tops. It's such a bonus! Taste is similar to chard.

Chard and spinach are quick sautes. I sometimes add one or the other to Pasta e Fagioli and minestrone. I also make a tomato based sauce with onions, garlic, and chard and combine with cooked pasta. My new favorite way to saute spinach is with garlic, ginger, and miso. I make arugula salads, and add arugula to cheese quesadillas and sandwiches.

Not a fan of kale. I used to grow mustard greens, but they require such a long cooking time.

Baby bok choy is another quick and easy green.

Not leafy greens, but we eat a lot of green beans, broccoli, and asparagus.

AJCN, thank you for the book recommendation. I've just ordered it for just a few dollars, used, Ebay.

My FIL cooked greens of all kinds. Dandelion, kale, chard, tops of many things I'm not sure I could even identify usually sauteed with oiive oil and a little garlic. Or, a lot of garlic. DH loves most of it but I'm not always sure what I'm buying. The last kale I tried was a little bitter, I'd like to find some things we both enjoy - and planned on growing more if it here this year. I have spinach started, and not for a side dish but tired of throwing away wilted cilantro after using a couple of chopped tablespoons, cilantro too. And I think I've tried every way of keeping it, in a glass of water either in or out of the refer, washed, unwashed, wrapped in paper towels...always wilts before I've used it all.

If your cilantro is going bad, it is probably because it was old when you bought it.

I buy it at markets that sell a lot of it, and so it is always very fresh. Try looking for it at a Latin market or Thai or Vietnamese market, or any market that stocks a large quantity of it.

When I get it home, I trim off the ends of the stems, as conservatively as possible, and then put it in a glass of water and store it in the fridge. For me, it stays very fresh this way for two weeks. I add water or change it every two or three days.

I keep cilantro in water in the fridge, but I use so little of it that it inevitably goes bad.

When I buy Thai basil I do the same, but keep it on the counter, not in the fridge.

Lars, you may be right about the 'fresh'. I've tried in water in the refrigerator and I'm lucky to get 5-6 days from a clump! I really need to leave some of these things at the grocery store and begin shopping more at Farmers Markets. The closest very nice one though is an hour away. I hoped with a couple of plants, I could snip off what I need as I need it and get better mileage from it. ( I'm assuming deer don't like cilantro with that plan though and I really don't know - they could surprise me. I've had them eat different alliums so strong scent won't necessarily deter them).

Plllog, thanks for the info on your smoothie recipe/method. I don't think I have the bitter gene and may give your drink a try when I have lots of greens on hand.

Linda Campbell, I do cook/eat fesh spinach, but usually in a salad or soup. Your saute sounds good and I always have garlic and parmesan on hand. Good to know it will work with swiss chard and collard greens, too.

Laceyvail, Your garden would be fun to wander thru. I've never even heard of gailan or senposai. Glad to hear that you can freeze greens and the tortillia idea is a good one. I wonder how they would be in a Quesadilla with cheese and maybe chicken.

AJCN, Those recipes look good. I have already ordered the book, as morz8 did, from ebay. Sounds like a good primer on vegetables.

Lars, thanks for the recipes. I cook kale the same way you do with garlic, but haven't tried the cheese topping. I will have to try sauteing spinach. You do sound adventurous with making kimchee and sauerkraut. And thanks for the Japanese market tip and the tip on making cilantro last longer.

Judi, I will have to try beet greens and adding spinach to Pasta e Fagioli (one of my favorites). The ginger and miso is an interesting addition to sauteed spinach. And adding arugula to a Quesadilla wouldn't have occurred to me or adding greens to pasta.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond with these great ideas. It's always easier if you know where to start and once I've made a dish it's much easier to add to our rotation.