Whether it’s for a New Years resolution, more energy, vitamins, or just better overall health, it’s always a good idea to add more leafy greens to the menu. Spinach and kale are in the spotlight lately with salads, breakfast bowls, smoothies, “Buddha bowls,” omelettes, and more. But you shouldn’t eat these leafy greens unless you’re also consuming a healthy fat at the same meal. If you don’t, you will miss out on a lot of the nutrition you were looking for. But how and why should you do this? Find out with this article.

What is a fat soluble vitamin?
A fat-soluble vitamin is a healthy organic compound that your body can only absorb if a fat is present at the same time the vitamin is consumed. Only a lipid can dissolve (and make useful) vitamins A, D, E, and K. The job of the small intestine is to absorb these vitamins in their lipid droplets as they pass through them with other foods. The vitamins are then stored in the body tissue or used to do their work in various bodily functions. Spinach, kale, and other green leafy vegetables are a great source of these essential fat-soluble compounds.

So where is the problem?
If there is no lipid present in the small intestine along with these vitamins, the body will simply ignore them and they will be of no use to you. Eating a fat-free spinach salad for dinner and then having a fat dessert later won’t help. Spinach enters the intestine first, and without fat where it is broken down, the vitamins are not absorbed.

This used to be combated with salad dressings like the traditional oil and vinegar dressing. However, these days you will come across two extremes of dressing; the low-fat / fat-free variety; and the type of restaurant where you have too much fat, sugar, or other additives that make the salad worthless. The other problem is inside the smoothies, bowls, and veggies at breakfast. Unless they’re in an omelette, it’s unlikely there will be a fat on the table at the same time. A kale, banana, pineapple, and rice milkshake is common … but where’s that healthy fat? It just lacks.

Healthy Fats and Vitamins That Work Together for You:
Now that you know how fat-soluble vitamins work, you’ll want to work to get some healthy fat into your food at the same time. Of course, not all fats are the same. There are the nasty ‘trans fats’ that are talked about in the news, plus monounsaturated fats, animal fats, hydrogenated oils, non-hydrogenated oils, vegetable fats, omega 3s, omega 6s, medium chain triglycerides, and fish oils. .the list just goes on and on.
However, choosing the correct type of fat is important for good absorption and good health. Of course, trans fats are not good, so what is a healthy, easy, and versatile one to choose from? Plant-based lipids are a good starting point. Unlike hydrogenated oils, they may not be as stable or long-lasting, but neither is fresh fruit and no one seems to care. Good sources of these include nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa beans, and tahini.

The solution is delicious (and easy!)
If you intend to eat a salad, consider making your own dressing. It’s often as easy as pouring, shaking to mix, and then using. Also consider crunching your salad with sunflower seeds, chia seeds, or walnuts instead of croutons. Each seed and nut has healthy omega 3 oils, protein, and great salad flavor and texture. Include olive oil: preferably cold pressed / first pressing. Olive oil is rich in the kind of healthy fats needed for the great vitamins in a healthy salad. Omega 3 and 6 oils, when in balance, help form healthy skin membranes (for youthful-looking skin), contribute to brain health, and help nourish hair follicles. An olive oil-based salad dressing with healthy seeds like chia, used over a baby spinach salad and topped with crunchy walnuts is a healthy and tasty way to start.

Do you want to try a homemade dressing?
This recipe is super simple to start off right.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried chia seeds
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Simply combine all ingredients in a lidded container and shake to mix. You are ready for the salad!
When you mix quick dressings at home, you don’t get any artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors, and you get the flavor you want. The internet is a host of easy dressing recipes, just a search away.

How about those breakfast bowls?
Don’t you like salad? Okay, there’s a fun, fruity way to get your veggies … without even tasting them! The answer here is the smoothie or the breakfast bowl. When you mix kale with pineapple and banana … you don’t even taste it. (Kale is notoriously a bit bitter and tough, not everyone is going to enjoy eating the leaves, no matter what you cover them with) However, no one wants olive oil in the blender and coconut oil will just grease it.

You can let nut butter be one of your answers here. A swirl of natural peanut butter (skip the high fructose corn syrup) or a full scoop of almond butter is great in chocolate or berry smoothies. Naturally, any smoothie or bowl can be topped with walnuts for added crunch and the healthy fats you need, too. But what if you have a bowl where nut butter just doesn’t work?

The seed of the sweet or salty omega-3 oil solution
The problem (if it could be called that) with the other healthy fats on the list is texture (oily oils!) OR taste (no one wants a nut in their pineapple). So what if you could have something with calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, healthy omega 3 oils, antioxidants, complete plant protein AND two types of fiber … that wouldn’t change the taste of food?

You really would be in the healthier eating business … and you would have chia seed on your side. Chia seeds are small so they will mix or match with just about anything. They are also tasteless, so you will never taste them … but they do contain the entire list of benefits you see above, and more. They are perfect to add to any smoothie or bowl because they do not alter the flavor. They’re also great for flavorful salad dressings, soups, and sandwiches because they’re as easy to use as ‘sprinkle’. When you have chia, you don’t have to worry about getting healthy fats in any green smoothie or bowl flavor.

With this knowledge, you can now enjoy your vegetables more and enjoy them more, too. By choosing the right types of fats and exploring more flavor options, your spinach and kale can go way beyond salad and you know you’re always getting all the vitamins and minerals available. Eating better every day doesn’t have to be difficult, and when you feel the results, it’s easy to want to move on. Find the combinations you love and easy sources of omega-3s, and you’ll be on your way to better health.