Over the winter months my lettuce leaf eating habits dwindle a bit, and my eye moves over to the more hearty greens. Wanting mouthfuls of roasted vegetables, pilaf based salads, or just warm side dishes in general. These delicate lettuce greens are still growing, and manage to still thrive even in the freezing weather. Those of you who are lettuce eaters through and through even may notice the leafs become a little more sweet and tender. This is actually true for all greens in the winter months: kales, spinach, and collards included.
This is true for because it is a mechanism for the plants to prevent themselves from freezing when the temperatures drop low. The sugars, that they pull from the roots, makes the water in their veins to have a lower freezing temperature and allows the plant to manage, and making their leaves taste that much more tasty!
Greens, in general, are packed full of phytochemicals, which are the color pigments of plants. As a rule of thumb the darker and multicolored varieties will tend to have these in higher concentrates. Chlorophyll, is the phytochemical that creates the green pigment and is what plants use to convert the suns energy into useful carbohydrates and oxygen, and strangely enough looks very similar to the oxygen carrying hemoglobin in our blood. Eating lots of chlorophyll rich foods will promote healthy blood, stimulate the immune system and also protect your body against daily doses of harmful radiation.
Enjoy them steamed, sauteed, dehydrated, raw, pureed, fresh and local.