Lettuce - Fresh from the Garden

Lettuce. Long & Lean; Leafy green. Meet Lillian.

Breathing in and out. Reaching toward (but not over) the "edge." Oh I feel so healthy!

Lettuce originated in the Mediterranean and Asia. It was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus. There is evidence that ancient Egyptians were enjoying the benefits of lettuce as far back as 6500 years ago.

Non-heading varieties, including some vining ones, were common years ago. Today we grow both heading and non-heading types. The four major groupings are iceberg, romaine, butterhead, and loose-leaf. Other greens commonly used in salads (arugula and some of the Asian micro-greens) are technically not lettuce.

Some wild lettuce varieties have bitterness to their taste, but most commercially available lettuces are quite mild. A wide variety of lettuce textures and colors is available to the home gardener, farmer's market crowd, or supermarket enthusiast.

Illustrated above is a young red romaine ("cos").

Lettuce, fairly filling due to its high water content, is also quite low in calories. For this reason, it's commonly thought of as a good diet food. Darker colored lettuces have more nutrient density than the lighter ones. Romaine is generally considered the best option as far as nutrition goes. Lettuce is high in chlorophyl and Vitamin K, as well as having smaller amounts of a number of other vitamins and minerals.

Lettuce is generally regarded as having neutral energy.

Please see your health provider for guidance on your own health program.

In the US, lettuce is usually eaten raw, commonly as the basis for a salad or as a sandwich topping. Adding a piece or two of well-washed fresh lettuce contributes nutrition, crunchiness, and volume to nearly any sandwich.

Two points for fresh lettuce eaters:

1. Be sure to wash lettuce thoroughly in several changes of water, particularly lettuce that you've brought home from a fresh market. It's way too easy for little bits of soil or even a few "garden helpers" (i.e. bugs) to slip in between the leaves and make themselves cozy. A salad spinner is a great way to dry off the leaves after washing; alternately you can blot with a dishtowel.

2. While lettuce itself is low in calories, some of the things we put on it are not. There's nothing so disheartening as making up a great salad meal "thinking" you're walking the straight and narrow of your healthy food plan ... and then cancelling out the benefits you'd hoped for with a bunch of high calorie toppings.

Lettuce — Try this: Gather up some fresh romaine from your garden, farmer's market, or the supermarket. Grill, broil, or roast some chicken. Slice the chicken over your bed of greens. Top with a sprinkling of grated cheese, whatever sliced veggies you happen to have on hand (carrots, tomato, avocado), and a dressing made from equal parts of olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper and fresh chopped seasonal herbs.