Skillet-Baked Greens + Eggs w/Fresh Cheese + Cumin + Lime

January has come and gone, and we’re finally getting the hang of this New Year thing. And while it feels that 2021 is less about “new year, new me,” and more about “new year, same sh*t,” this is typically the time of year when recipe developers like me brace ourselves with all sorts of “healthy recipes” to share for those out there looking to revamp their routines, turn over a new leaf and get fit, starting with their food.

But let me tell you, friends, that if you’re looking to reach new peaks this year, you’ll start by NOT eating salad this winter, hunting for new ways to enjoy your greens (like this little recipe instead!)

Here’s the down-low on my “No Salads Till Spring” boycott (and why these Skillet-Baked Eggs with Greens and Fresh Cheese is my my favorite way to not-salad yet.)

Sensibly, in season.

Ok so hear me out. However it is that humans ended up on the planet, it was likely the same way that the trees, the bees, the birds ended up here too. We are just as much “nature,” as all the other nature we appreciate around us, and our bodies are still governed by all of the same forces of nature that we *think* we’ve harnessed by science.

All animals on the planet eat locally, and in season. Our bodies are built that way, and even though the papayas that Whole Foods offer through the winter can be pretty bomb, that is not what my Colorado-living body wants to eat in the coldest months of the year.

What’s available to us right now, is what our bodies want. And NEED. And by way of salad greens, here in Colorado anyway, the pickings are pretty slim. Tender greens (like spring greens, butter lettuces, and baby arugula) that are easy to enjoy and digest raw will have to wait until, you guessed it, SPRING. But we have winter greens! Hallelujah! Let’s eat those!

The how’s + why’s of winter greens

So! We have these gorgeous, deep, leafy, dense greens available to us that are ridiculously nutritious and rather delicious. Kale, collards, chard, spinach – they’re all in the club. These greens are stout, and we know that just from picking them up, that they’re difficult to wilt and it takes quite a bit of massaging or cooking to start to wilt them. This is a pretty good indication of what happens to them in our digestive systems too. It’s hard, rough work breaking down a kale salad. But, if we gently cook these greens before enjoying them, we break down the additional fiber and still get to enjoy all of the powerful nutrients they contain.

Why wilt?

“But what about eating raw foods?” you may ask.

“Does it matter if I cook them first?”

“And what happens when I don’t?”

These are all great questions.

The raw food rage is just one of the food fad bandwagons you could choose to jump on. And there’s some value to it – eating ingredients in their unadulterated states (ie: not processed) is the best way to eat.

BUT, our digestive systems are the gateways of nutrient absorption and immunity, and thusly allow our bodies to do everything else we ask them to do (like run a marathon, ride 100 miles, tour for hours on end, etc.) Consistent snacking, performance fueling and inconsistent mealtimes, make this matter worse – our digestive systems are working constantly. Imagine if you never ever took a rest day? That’s what your small intestine feels like.

We don’t need to cause our bodies more work by way of choosing foods that are challenging to digest. What we do need to do is to pick foods that are nutrient-dense, and eat them in a form that allows our bodies to process and absorb them easily. And that happens when we cook our vegetables, specifically these leafy, fibrous greens.

If we don’t cook our greens first, we run the risk of not completely digesting our food, failing to absorb the nutrients from what we eat. This can lead to malabsorption, digestive distress, nutrient deficiency, lowered immunity, and ultimately lacking performance.

Beat bloating, weight gain + performance loss. Skip salad.

The nutshell: if you don’t cook your winter greens, and keep eating salads through this cold season, it’s possible that no one will know. But YOU. It’s likely that you’ll experience more gas, constipation, bloating, inflammation and weight gain through the winter. Even though salads are “hypothetically” meant to keep us slim and trim, they only do that in the seasons when out bodies need to be cooled. Winter is not that season.

So, how to weave in the greens?

When the doctors teaching my Ayurvedic medicinal program (I’m just one semester into a 2-year program,) informed me of just how much salads were likely setting me back, I was aghast. We were eating a LOT of salad in our house prior to that. I was a wee bit petrified of not eating enough greens and completely unsure of how I would survive a meal without them.

I can proudly say that, while we have had a few precious little butter lettuce salads (with w/locally grown hydroponic lettuces – so cute!) I’ve gone almost 4 months without a Big Salad and have found ways to weave in greens with satisfaction. Roasting broccoli and Brussel sprouts, simmering soups and adding spinach to wilt, stirring kale into pasta, and spinning pestos – it’s all working. 

But these Skillet-Baked Greens + Eggs w/Fresh Cheese + Cumin + Lime is a special favorite. It’s easy to pack in protein along those anti-inflammatory wilted greens. Plus, powerful digestive spices keep our fire stoked, and little pockets of fresh cheese and eggs keep the protein and fat quotient up. Faster and fresher than a frittata, this dish is my go-to for any meal where eggs are the main event. (Many, right now, TBH.)