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How to Eat Greens - Examples from SE Asia

How to Eat Greens - Examples from SE Asia

January 2019 · 8 min read

My comment contest for SBI shares is a hit! So many of you have commented with information and questions and I am so grateful for your attention.

https://steemit.com/esteem/@fitinfunfood/thursday-green-with-greens-sbi-comment-contest

Please go look at that post, comment, and read the other great comments. I have already learned a lot of greens knowledge from all over the world. And I have answered many questions and will continue to do so throughout the contest and beyond.

I am so happy with the result so far. I knew breaking off @fitinfunfood from @fitinfun was a good idea, but you never know until you try. Now I only wish I would have done it sooner!

This post gives some ideas and inspiration so you might be able to fit more greens in your life. If you are not sure why you should do this, please go to the comment contest post for many details. But in a nutshell:

The fitinfunfood theory has two steps:

  • Eat less crap.
  • Eat more nutrition.

Eating your greens is part of the second step. Some greens every day will help you on your journey to better health.

I live in SE Asia now where greens are on most tables for most meals. This assortment was sitting on our dinner table at my Thai friends house. This variety would normally go on the table raw, and be wrapped around your morsels before you pop the food in your mouth. I learned to eat with my hands in Thailand and I recommend it!

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Here comes my ode to dillweed in Thailand. I was used to getting little measly shriveled packs of dill back in the states that cost and arm and a leg. In Thailand the dill is plentiful, gorgeous and cheap! Luxury for me who loves that flavor.

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This cost 60 cents!!! Incredible.

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Here's me washing the whole plant with my shower head in the bathroom of a hotel. (Don't judge!)

Look at those roots! The roots have many health benefits so they cut them off before you buy them in the states. I have learned to love any herb roots now, so I'm getting the grit off.

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If you see herbs of any kind with the roots on - buy them. Clean and chop the roots and add them to anything. You can freeze them. You can dry them. They go in soup or grind them for smoothies. Only the very small tips are easy to eat raw in salad. The higher up the plant - the harder the roots are on your teeth.

AAAAHHHHH!

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I entered this next photo to the daily food photography challenge when @howtostartablog was running it. I was so excited about the dill and posted many photos of it to that challenge. He finally told me dill roots would never win lol.

I do not care. I love this shot!

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Moving on from dill, here is a shot of a dinner I was making. This egg salad with veggies is going to be all chopped up and the Thai Holy Basil will give a lovely boost of flavor and nutrition.

Thai Holy Basil is also cheap in big bunches here. Unbelievable to me!

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Check this out from Phnom Penh Cambodia. what ever these were - I was happy. The are just cooked enough to be wilted and so good!

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Turn the plate around...

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The purple shreds are the banana pod before it has bananas. The carrots and cucumber were delectable

OMG... Pork from a roadside barbecue to die for. Melt in your mouth.

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My tuk tuk driver is showing me how to spice up this $4 meal. Heaven!

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Straight out of the pool to a feast on the side of the road. I requested chairs I could sit in like a human, BBQ meat and greens, preferably outside, and I got it!

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Lee Tuk Tuk
Lee is so highly recommended in PP Cambodia. I found him on fb due to the huge number of people from around the world making sure he will be available for their trip, and posting photos of adventures he led them on.

This is only one of many feasts he took me to. The rest of his help in this unreal city was invaluable.

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Back to Thailand in a different hotel

This partially ready salad features cilantro and I see apples in it too. Read my post about apples so you do not get the poisoned ones

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And here is that same salad getting more stuff on it. Sunflower seeds, brown rice, lime juice, powdered honey, sardines and apple cider vinegar will be added to this mix. It already has coconut oil.

I will end up with 2-3 servings by the time I'm done and the ones that sit in the fridge will wilt and be even more yummy in the next day or two.

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More food at my Thai friend's house. Delicious soup with aromatic greens, a handful of rice pulled out of a basket, some kind of delicious soft fruit, and a spicy sauce.

My friends whipped this up in an instant when I showed up late one night after they had already eaten.

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Greens in a soup and pork on a grill. Just keep eating and it will keep being refilled! The rice basket is out of view.

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This is Tom Yum Salad found everywhere in Thailand. Not my favorite thing, but everyone else loves it.

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What's this? The best soup I have ever had in my life. The white things are ant eggs knocked out a tree by the auntie who came from up north for a week and cooked 24/7 for the whole time.

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You can see a few fetal ants here. Don't knock until you try it!

The ant eggs popped in your mouth and were a bit like chicken eggs if chicken eggs were a quarter inch long. I had two bowls of this and wish I had some now.

This is the only time I know of that I had this particular green and it was so good! The peppers are not hot.

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Knocking ant eggs out of a tree is a skill and not many people have it. My friends said their auntie scavenged food of all types for a living and was one of the best at it in her region. She's mostly getting mushrooms and small critters.

I was so fortunate to meet this lady and try all her wonderful food.

She is cooking on the ground in a parking lot and that cauliflower will soon be amazing in a stir fry.

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Here's how the eggs came - frozen and wrapped in a blue newspaper. She brought about 10 of these discs to us on the bus. Everyone was very happy to see them and thought I would not try them.

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I have tried all the bugs I have been offered in SE Asia. I'm not here to be picky and good thing about that!

These were the first bugs I ever liked. All others have been mushy and tasteless so far.

The ant eggs have a season and I was lucky enough to be there at the right time. All of those discs were not going to last long.

Getting back to greens....

My airport dinner in Yangon Myanmar hit the spot. That salad was a bit plain and so delicious! This is the most expensive meal I have paid for in three years of travel in SE Asia. Poor planning on my part, and then a delayed flight made this happen.

Yes, there are greens on and in the eggs, as well as other veggies. This whole meal was fantastic.

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Not greens - but green limes. Eat them to get the vitamin C you need so badly and to add flavor to just about anything. We will talk more about this later, but try to eat one lime or lemon once a day and your body will thank you.

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All of the above is why I tell you - this is not about MY food. This is about YOUR food. You are not here and you cannot eat this.

But you have something similar near you. Go to your local stores and look for the cheapest and freshest greens you can find. Then but some and eat them!

Thank you so much for reading my post today. And please let me know your comments and questions. I want to hear from you!

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