Use This Chart To Pick Nutritious Leafy Greens

If you’re searching for the healthiest, most nutrient-packed leafy greens for your salads or sandwiches, this chart from the folks at Greatist can point you in the right direction. The secret? Look for dark, open greens over lighter, tightly packed ones.

The reason that dark, “open” greens — like cos lettus, kale and spinach — are more nutritious is pretty simple: those darker leaves absorb more light and synthesise more vitamins while they’re in the ground. So when you pluck them and put them in your salad, you get the benefit of those nutrients. Lighter, densely packed leaves, like in iceberg lettuce, for example, are missing those nutrients and vitamins.

The chart on the side only contains information about some of the most popular types of salad greens (Arugula is American for Rocket, for those of you not in the US), but they’re by no means your only options. You could do just as well by mixing a little radicchio and oak leaf with your cos lettuce and red leaf lettuces to give your salads a bit more flavour and texture while boosting the nutritional value.

For some more great leafy green-buying suggestions, hit up the link below. Do you have a favourite salad green you prefer? Maybe you mix up your own salads? Share your salad tips in the comments below.

How to Choose the Healthiest Salad Greens [Greatist]