Swiss chard is one of the three healthiest vegetables you can eat. It's only 35 calories per cup. It's got way more vitamins and minerals than even spinach, and spinach is usually considered one of the most nutritious of vegetables. If you are trying to lose weight then eating lots of vegetables is ideal. It will fill you up and satiate you for very few calories and lots of nutrition.The combination of photonutrients and fiber in swiss chard seems to be very effective at preventing digestive tract cancers according to several studies.
One cup of swiss chard has over three hundred percent of the daily recommended value of vitamin K. Vitamin K is very important for bone health. A cup also provides you with 109 percent of the daily recommended value of Vitamin A. Vitamin A is thought to play a role in cancer prevention and prevention of oxygen-based damage to cells. It's also very beneficial for vision and eye health. If you are a smoker it's particularly important to get more Vitamin A and C.
One cup of swiss chard also provides 52 percent of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C, 27 percent DV of potassium, 38 percent of magnesium 22% of iron, 16% of Vitamin E and 14% of fiber. It's an amazingly nutritious vegetable!
Here's the very simple way I cook chard;
Simple Swiss Chard Recipe
Wash the chard and cut it into bigger than bite size pieces. I use the stalk as well. Throw the chard into a pot (with a lid) with a tiny bit of water. Cook on high heat (boil, steam) for one to three minutes, depending on how tender you want the texture to be. Add a little bit of salt and butter or olive oil at the end.
That's it! It's a simple and fast recipe. You can vary this in countless ways. I usually throw in any left-over vegetables from the previous day. Onions, garlic, mushrooms, sesame oil or sesame seeds would also all add good flavor.
WHFoods has a similar recipe they call Mediterranean Swiss Chard (as pictured above). They also provide much more detailed nutritional information.