You do not need to eat meat for every meal. You can get many nutrients from a vegetarian meal such as this one I made this evening. It’s not just light, low in calories. but also packed with an abundance of nutrients that you will truly enjoy on a humid day.

Kale is the new, “in” vegetable people are talking about, and yes, it is very good for you. But have you tried some colorful and good for you Swiss Chard? Hmmm, well, if you have not, you need to go to your farmers market or grocery and purchase some. And if you have children and want them to eat more healthy foods, then have them go with you, pick out that bunch they like, have them prepare it with you and I guarantee they will eat it with you. The fun part that your children will like in preparing this salad is that they get to mix the salad with the extra virgin olive oil with their hands. Basically, getting a bit messy. Let them get involved in preparing every meal, since this will instill good eating habits. It is a proven fact that if children prepare the food, they will eat it.

Okay, so let’s talk a bit about this vegetable, Swiss Chard. Swiss Chard can be eaten raw or cooked. But for tonight’s meal I served it raw, in a salad mixed with some kale. In the salad I added a mix of Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Toscano cheese. Since these cheeses provide an adequate amount of salt I did not add any additional salt, just some red pepper flakes. Now, if you don’t like spicy, then just add some fresh cracked pepper. I also squeezed some fresh lemon into the salad and drizzled some extra virgin olive oil. Since I wanted to add some texture and carbs , I made some wild rice, allowed it to cool and then tossed it into the salad for a vegetarian meal.

The wild rice is much healthier than your plain white rice. It is higher in protein than most other whole grains and is a great source of fiber, folate, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6, niacin and zinc.

This recipe provides, calcium, vitamin K, vitamin C, protein, iron, the antioxidants alpha, beta-carotene, and fiber.

So, if you want a healthy and quick good for you meal that keeps you cool on these hot and muggy days, try this salad and I assure you it will be a hit with everyone! As always, Enjoy!

Kale, Swiss Chard and Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients: Serves 2

• 2 cups Swiss Chard greens, torn into bite size pieces, torn off the hard stem
• 2 cups Kale, torn into bite size pieces, torn off the hard stem
• 1/2 fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 cup  Wild Rice, cooked and cooled

Preparation:

Place the kale and Swiss chard in a salad spinner. Rinse and spin until dry.

Place the greens in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Squeeze the ingredients together. Now add in all of the remaining ingredients and toss to incorporate.