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Swiss chard, a member of the beet family, is a succulent green with a soft texture similar to spinach.
While lesser-known than spinach, Swiss chard is like a heartier cousin with more personality.
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I especially appreciate the red, yellow, green and orange, colors of the striking rainbow chard.
I’ll almost always include some of their elegant stems in my dishes to introduce extra fiber and striking color. When cooked, the stems are soft and totally edible.
In fact, my grandmother’s Swiss chard stem relish is a family heirloom!
I sincerely hope that today I can help you to enjoy more Swiss chard.
This recipe can also be adapted to cook any leafy green, or combination of greens.
Health benefits
According to Medical News Today, Swiss chard contains 3 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K, and 44 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin A.
Vitamin K is an essential fat-soluble vitamin for building healthy bones, and maintaining a healthy heart and brain.
Vitamin A is best known for supporting eye health, but it may also lower you cancer risk and support the immune system, according to Healthline.
Swiss chard is also a good source of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C, and folate, as well as being antioxidant and beta carotene-rich.
According to Healthline, dark, leafy greens like Swiss chard are among the most nutrient-dense foods.
To combat metabolic dysfunction, it’s critically important to include lots of nutrient dense foods like leafy greens in your daily diet.
This simple—yet flavorful—Ayurvedic Swiss chard recipe will leave you feeling energized, clear, and cool.
Ayurvedic qualities of Swiss chard
Ayurveda is a traditional system of healthcare originating in ancient India that uses qualities to determine the medicinal value of a food for an individual. If you do not know your dosha, or Ayurvedic body type, you can take my 5-minute dosha quiz to find out.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, Swiss chard is cold, dry, light, and clear in quality, with primarily bitter and astringent tastes. It is also a diuretic, which contributes to its drying qualities when we loose water through urination.
Like most leafy greens, Swiss chard promotes peristalsis, or movement of food through the digestive tract. The fiber in leafy greens promotes good gut bacteria.
Due to its qualities, Swiss chard pacifies Pitta and Kapha doshas, and can aggravate Vata when eaten on its own.
Dosha variations
Due to the inclusion of cumin, salt, lime, and other spices, this recipe is well balanced for any dosha.
Each of these additional ingredients pacifies Vata, so despite Swiss chard’s Vata-aggravating qualities, Vata types can still benefit from this nutritional powerhouse green.
Vata types can also adjust the amount of fat for even greater balance.
Vata can use up to 1 tablespoon of ghee to counter the drying nature of the leafy green. Pitta can use 2 teaspoons, and Kapha can stick with 1 teaspoon to avoid unwanted weight gain and heaviness.
Another factor that makes greens difficult to digest for Vata is their fibrous nature. However, the greens in this recipe are well-cooked, so this helps a lot to support easy digestion.
So if you are a Vata that loves greens (which many do), go ahead and try this recipe. Use the full tablespoon of ghee and enjoy!
Greens by dosha
Below is a chart listing the greens that pacify each dosha.
| VATA | PITTA | KAPHA |
| parsley | Swiss chard, arugula, asparagus, cabbage, chicory, collard greens, dandelion, kale, kohlrabi, spinach (cooked; raw strongly aggravates) | Swiss chard, arugula, asparagus, beet greens, cabbage, celery, chicory, collard greens, dandelion, kale, kohlrabi, lamb’s quarters, mustard greens, parsley, turnip greens, watercress, spinach |
You can see that most leafy greens aren’t generally recommended for Vata. Only parsley, since its primarily warming, and has numerous digestive actions that support Vata.
However, I have just given you a recipe that will allow Vata to enjoy greens, and part of this is how soft and well-cooked Swiss chard gets, so keep that in mind.
All types can feel free to substitute the Swiss chard for other greens, or combine different types of greens together.
Simple Swiss Chard (Leafy Greens)
Equipment
- medium saucepan with lid
Ingredients
to prepare
- 1 bunch Swiss chard (6 cups loosely packed) chopped into bite-sized pieces, some of the smaller stems included
to cook
- 1 teaspoon ghee (for vegan, sub with olive oil, coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon spice masala (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 lime freshly squeezed, or to taste
Instructions
to prepare
- Chop Swiss chard into bite-sized pieces and wash well. There is no need to spin dry since we will be adding water during the cooking process anyway.
to cook
- Start ghee in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add spice masala and cumin and sizzle for 20-30 seconds.
- Add water, Swiss chard, and salt. Cover, and cook for 5-10 minutes, until tender to your liking.
- Turn off the heat and squeeze in the fresh lime juice. Enjoy!
