• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Red Beans and Eric
  • About Me
    • My Books
    • Work With Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reviews
      • From the Bookshelf
      • Product Disclaimer / Review Info
  • The Interviews
  • Recipes
    • Red Beans and Rice Recipe
    • Bean Dishes
    • Breads
    • Breakfast/Brunch
    • Cocktail/Drinks
    • Gumbo/Soups/Stews
    • Main – BEEF
    • Main – PORK
    • Main – POULTRY
    • Main – SEAFOOD
    • Pasta
    • Rice Dishes
    • Salad
    • Sandwiches/Poboys
    • Seasonings/Sauces
    • Side Dishes
    • Slow Cooker
  • Contact Us
  • Lagniappe
You are here: Home / Side Dishes / Collard Greens, Moisturized Hair, and Getting Lucky

Collard Greens, Moisturized Hair, and Getting Lucky

Tweet
Pin14
Share13
27 Shares
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

One of my new favorite sides to my red beans and rice dinner has been collard greens. They add a nice balance to the beans and bring a new flavor to the meal that makes a great bowl of red beans even better.

Collard greens are an extremely versatile side that pairs well with so many different meals. The best part of this cruciferous vegetable is the health benefits that it provides. Here are some facts from the Medical News Today:

  • One cup of boiled collard greens contains 63 calories, 5 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and 11 grams of carbohydrate, including 8 grams of fiber and 1 gram of sugar.
  • It provides over 250 percent of a person’s daily needs for vitamin A, over 50 percent of vitamin C, 26 percent of calcium, 1 percent of iron, and 10 percent of both vitamin B-6 and magnesium.
  • Collard greens are a rich source of vitamin K. They also contain folate, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, choline, phosphorus, and potassium.

And these aren’t the only benefits.

Eating collard greens can help with bone health, help lower the risk of various types of cancer, improve liver function, help you maintain a healthy digestive tract, keeps hair moisturized, gives the body energy, helps you sleep better, and may even help with depression.

And if all of that doesn’t make you want to eat your greens, there’s bacon.

We all know the benefits of bacon: it’s bacon.

Bacon and collard greens seem to go so well with each other. They go together like peanut butter and jelly or the grilled cheese and tomato soup. You can’t have collard greens without bacon.

But can you have bacon without collard greens?

Growing up in Michigan, we never had collard greens. Ever. Not even by accident. But in the past year or so, I started making it and now I love to add it as a side to many different meals. Besides all of the great health benefits that it provides, it tastes great (with bacon) and it’s a great alternative to a simple side salad.

If the health benefits and the bacon aren’t convincing enough, there’s more to collard greens: Collard greens hold the power of bringing good luck and wealth when paired with black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Years Day. For centuries black-eyed peas have been a symbol of luck and having good health. When added to the peas, collard greens represent money and helps ensure that you have a financially prosperous new year. Add cornbread, which represents gold, and you will be set as the well-known phrase goes: peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold. But the truth was probably ‘eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year.’

Next time you make a pot of red beans and rice, serve this Collard Green recipe along with it. You will not only benefit from the greens but also from the added nutritional value of the beans. Plus, you’ll feel great, you’ll have moisturized hair, and you just might get lucky.

Let me know what you think about this recipe in the comment section below.

Print

Collard Greens

Course Side Dish
Servings 8 people
Author Red Beans and Eric

Ingredients

  • 5 strips thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 bunch of fresh collard greens chopped into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a deep pan with a lid, over MEDIUM heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Once finished, remove bacon from pan and crumble into smaller pieces. Return the bacon to the pan along with onions; cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic to the pan and cook an additional 2 minutes.
  2. Mix the chopped collard greens into the pan and fry until the greens start to wilt.
  3. Pour chicken stock into the pan along with the crushed red pepper flakes; reduce heat to LOW, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the greens are tender.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please subscribe to the Red Beans & Eric Newsletter so you don’t miss a recipe, interview, or review. And by signing up, I’ll send you a free e-cookbook that includes some of the most popular recipes found here on the website.

You can always stay in touch with me by leaving a comment in the section below, by clicking here or messaging me on any of the social media sites that I am on. If you take a photo of any of the recipes that I’ve shared here, please tag it using #RedBeansAndEric so I can find it!

Thank you for stopping by!

Keep the red beans cookin’!

Eric

Tweet
Pin14
Share13
27 Shares

Become part of the community & get every article sent to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Thyme is on My Side Cocktail from Sac-a-Lait
Next Post: Best Red Beans and Rice Gifts on Etsy »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Red Beans & Eric!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Become part of the community & get every article sent to your inbox!

What's Trending:

Chili Cheese Burrito inspired by the Taco Bell ChilitoChili Cheese Burrito inspired by the Taco Bell Chilito3K Total Shares
Forgotten Once Jambalaya Slow Cooker RecipeForgotten Once Jambalaya Slow Cooker Recipe792 Total Shares
Homemade Red Beans and Rice that is Better Than PopeyesHomemade Red Beans and Rice that is Better Than Popeyes588 Total Shares
Creole Style Green BeansCreole Style Green Beans524 Total Shares
Red Beans and Rice with New Orleans Heart and SoulRed Beans and Rice with New Orleans Heart and Soul495 Total Shares
Creole Mac and CheeseCreole Mac and Cheese431 Total Shares
Best. Red Beans. And rice. Ever.Best. Red Beans. And rice. Ever.363 Total Shares
New Orleans Style Stewed ChickenNew Orleans Style Stewed Chicken267 Total Shares
Mardi Gras Chicken Strips with Creole Dipping SauceMardi Gras Chicken Strips with Creole Dipping Sauce217 Total Shares
New Orleans-Style BBQ Chicken in a Buttery SauceNew Orleans-Style BBQ Chicken in a Buttery Sauce178 Total Shares

A Proud Member of:

Please Support the Following:

Order a NOLA Themed Box:

Copyright © 2021 Red Beans and Eric on the Foodie Pro Theme