Greens are some of the simplest foods to dehydrate and use in the kitchen! You can even go one step further and learn “DIY Green Superfood Powder at Home”! Let’s take a look at how it’s done!
You can dry all sorts of greens, including spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, beet greens and various lettuces to make green superfood powder!
I take it a step further and dehydrate weeds that I forage like chickweed, plantain and dandelion leaves.
DIY Homemade Dandelion Oil and Salve
I enjoy using my dried greens in my cooking, but I really love making my own green superfood powder! Why pay top dollar for greens powder a the health food store when you can make your own?
Why Make Greens Powder?
There are many reasons to make greens powder at home!
First off, it’s very simple to make. All you need is your greens, a blender and a dehydrator.
Next, it brings amazing nutrition and alkalization to your body.
Beet greens are high in vitamin A, C and calcium. Collard greens are a good source of vitamins A and B, along with copious amounts of calcium, phosphorous and other minerals. Greens are good for us!
Further, there’s a direct connection between alkalization and our overall health.
Personally, I try very hard to increase my intake of high alkaline foods and lessen my exposure to acidic foods and emotions, on a daily basis. Consuming greens powder is just one more way I can alkalize, and it’s so easy to do!
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love everything about food preservation!
Canning, freezing and dehydrating are some of my favorite topics in life.
But there’s something especially fun about dehydrating. I think because it’s so quick and easy, so I get immediate gratification from it.
If you don’t have a dehydrator, or even if you do, check out my post “11 Ways to Use the Excalibur Dehydrator“. It is by far one of the best dehydrators on the market. I have owned mine for over 12 years and absolutely love and recommend it!
So, I was at the farmer’s market this weekend with my husband. I hadn’t been there in a while, so I was excited to get there and see what I could find to take home and preserve!
Not much is in season at this point in the year, but I did stop at one of the organic gardener’s tables and she had this gorgeous kale for just $2 a bundle!
So, I snapped up a few and brought them home to make green superfood powder!
Even though the kale was organic, you’re still going to want to give it a good wash in a half-sink of water with a couple of cups of vinegar. Let it soak for a few minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Shake dry.
Typically, we would blanch vegetables before drying, but it’s not necessary with greens.
You can just use them raw, isn’t that handy? It makes the process so much easier!
So let’s get that gorgeous kale on the cutting board and carefully the leaves away from the rib.
Then cut your kale into small pieces, mine are about 2″ x 2″. Lay them out on your dehydrator tray and dry at 110 degrees or your herb setting.
They don’t look much different dried, do they?
The kale will simply crumble in your hand, so be gentle handling them.
That’s all there is to dehydrating greens! Remove any leftover stems and place powder in an airtight jar, in a cool, dry place or the frig.
Now, in order to make a green superfood powder, we take one extra step to pulverize the greens. This can be done in a coffee grinder or a blender.
Be creative and combine different greens together to make your own unique blends! There’s no right or wrong way, and the beauty of this is that you can use whatever is available, at the store or in your garden.
Drop the dried greens into your blender…and pulverize for a few seconds. (Here’s the blender I use!)
See how easy it is?
Pour your powder into an air-tight jar or container and keep in a cool, dry place. Two large bunches of kale resulted in about 12 oz. of powder, all for about $4!
How to Use Super Greens Powder
- In smoothies (This is my go-to!)
- With omelets.
- In soups and stews.
- On pizza.
- To season side dishes, like rice or vegetables.
- Over potatoes! A little olive oil and roast them!
- Stir into salad dressing.
Enjoy!
This Post Has 10 Comments
You wrote on just what I wanted to know about, thank you very much. Since I got my Excaliber, nothing is safe from considering its “dehydrate – ability!” I am in Northern Idaho and get my bulk veggies from some Mennonite families in Western Montana. I got started last year with drying asparagus stem bottom 1/3’s for super greens powder, since it isn’t a good candidate for drying. I froze the stems’ top 2/3rds. Worked out well. Happy New Year!!!
Hey Dee, that’s so awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Hi, did you say that you dehydrate the bottom of the asparagus, the part you break off because it’s too “woody” to enjoy eating? I have always tried to take off as little as possible so I don’t waste it but end up with some bites of asparagus that aren’t very good. If I can dehydrate them and put the in my green powder then I won’t be wasting them!
Hi Tamera,
That’s a great idea! My chickens enjoy them also! Waste not, want not!
Hi Kelly,I found your info and experiences on living a sustainable like interesting and encouraging.I too live in a town and have a small garden where I grow veg and fruit in containers and hanging baskets,last year i had runner beans cascading down in hanging baskets! Drying fruit and veg has been fun and we are still eating dried kale from 4 years ago! I long for chickens and goats to be even more independent.i love your heading of Gently sustainable,we cant rush these things ,you are certainly an example to us all,thank you .
Hi Josette! Thanks so much for your encouragement and for reading! Dangling runner beans sounds beautiful! Keep up the good work!
I just finished drying some collard greens and made into the green powder. I made some tuna fish and sprinkled some on top. We loved it. Thanks
Pam, I love that!!! What a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
Can I dehydrate frozen vegetables and frozen fruit? What temp and how long?
Yes ma’am, here’s a video to show you how!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxxHIvH5EgY