Mizuna and Radish Salad

Today’s Plate of Inspiration is quite simple. It’s a salad. Boring huh? Gosh, not at all. Even though the ingredients are simple, the flavors are complex… thanks to the mizuna greens.

What is mizuna?

These delicate feathery greens are rich with a peppery flavor. It reminds me of arugula or young mustard greens. Depending on where you live, it might go by the name of spider mustard, Japanese mustard greens, water greens, or kyona.

It is part of the broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnip, mustard and rutabaga family… which doesn’t surprise me based on its taste. If you are new to this green and unsure of its strong taste, I recommend that you toss it with other mixed-greens.

Always Eat with a Fat

Mizuna is packed with vitamin A, supplying 118 percent of the daily recommended value in each cup. Since Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, it needs to be consumed with fat to absorb all the nutrients that it has to offer. This is why I enjoyed the salad with some fresh avocado.

Another beauty of this leafy green is that it is high in vitamin C. Just one cup is about 65 percent of the daily recommended value.

Caution – High Vitamin K

Hmm, it may seem odd that I am throwing out a caution warning when it comes to this peppery green but for those who are on blood thinners, you need to be careful with this green. Mizuna is loaded with vitamin K. This is an important nutrient that serves many functions in the body, but again for those on blood thinners, it can raise some issues.

Easy to Grow

I wish I could say that I grew it in my own garden, but that doesn’t exist yet! One day I will test my green thumb… I refuse to give up, even if I have to paint my thumb green just to play tricks on my mind. But for when the day should arise, I have heard that it is easy and quick to grow. It can withstand extreme conditions and temperatures, making it ideal for novice and expert gardeners alike. Right up my ~~garden row~~ alley.

So, that about wraps things up for today. I hope that I may have inspired you to try those out-of-the-ordinary leafy greens that may be lurking in your local grocery store or farmers market. Have a blessed day, amie sue