Prepare Leafy Greens

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How to Prepare Leafy Greens for Cooking


It's easy to cook your favorite leafy greens!

For greens like cabbage, kale, spinach, collard greens, and others:

  1. Take off outside leaves, if needed. Remove wilted or brown leaves and dispose.
  2. Rinse completely under cold running water.
  3. Place in colander to drain.
  4. Place leaves in a plastic bag with a paper towel and store in refrigerator until you want to cook them.

When ready to cook kale:

  1. Cut out the hard stems.
  2. Stack about 3-4 leaves on top of each other. Roll them up.
  3. Use sharp knife and cut rolls into thin slices.

For iceberg lettuce:

  1. Hit the head on the counter to loosen the core and remove.
  2. Run cold water over lettuce head
  3. Place lettuce head in colander to drain.
  4. Store lettuce in a plastic bag with paper towel in refrigerator until ready to use.
Fresh leafy greens placed on white cutting board with yellow background.

This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.