Bitter Better Beautiful

Bitter greens are not loved universally. Most Mediterranean countries use bitter greens (which aren't always green) as a family dinner table staple. In Greece, we love dandelion greens and a type of wild chicory. Italians are more colorful, adding all kinds of purple lettuces/greens from the chicory family. My radicchio salad has purples and greens. Here's the recipe guide.

Is bitter better? Why even eat bitter greens, I wonder. Because the bitter element denotes a high level of polyphenols, the delicious compound in extra-virgin olive oil, yes, bitter is better if you're eating for a healthy body. Polyphenols fight off free radicals and reduce inflammation. If the bitter greens are red, you also eat anthocyanins that help reduce oxidation in the body.

The bottom line is that vegetables and greens of all colors help us to keep our bodies healthy. We can't see what's going on inside the body, but it will send us signals that it's unhappy and struggling. Let's send it some nutritional love with my easy and beautiful radicchio salad. Besides how easy it is to prepare and how beautifully it presents without much effort, you can go a bit nuts with creativity by adding avocado or sliced celery or thinly sliced cucumber or sliced asparagus or toasted sunflower seeds or all of it. My favorite is avocado.

Find the best olive oil. Always extra-virgin and cold-pressed.
This is a gift from friends--small batch unfiltered from Lebanon.

This salad is insanely delicious. Once you toss the greens with the vinegar, oil and cheese, you end up with a somewhat creamy dressing. And the bonus is that you get a mouthful of nutrition with each forkful. And the bonus bonus is that you don't even have to mix the dressing--it comes together in the salad bowl. How's that for easy?

Use the best blue cheese that you can afford

Radicchio can be the size of a small cabbage or the size of a tennis ball.

Sometimes I use the whole leaves and sometimes I slice through the head.