Greens 'n' thangs.

What better day to eat greens than St. Paddy's Day?!

But first! A restaurant update.

Deepa (who is officially my TFG Restaurant Week partner-in-crime) and I went to a cute, small restaurant called Eclectic Cafe.

...I don't think the name of the restaurant is subtle enough.

Anyway, the menu was pretty insane. It included everything from soups and salads to burgers to omelettes to enchiladas and burritos. At first glance, I was completely overwhelmed.

We eventually decided on a spicy black bean Cuban salad and the ultimate vegetarian bean burro.

Mixed greens, sunflower sprouts, avocado, radishes, mushrooms, and lots of other veggies topped with a black bean patty.

A huge burrito filled with refried beans, tomato, avocado, and green chilis, topped with cheese and sour cream. And an olive.

That meal was enormous. But tasty nonetheless!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I made a green dinner today. (And this sort of counts as a salad... maybe a salad in wrap form?)

Mushroom-Stuffed Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

• whole swiss chard leaves
• mushrooms, chopped
• garlic
• onions
• olive oil
• cheese of choice
• black pepper 
• paprika

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare the swiss chard by placing one leaf at a time in the boiling water for 20-30 seconds.

So bright green!

Keep the chard aside. Chop the garlic/onions/mushroom and saute in olive oil. Season with black pepper.

Add the cheese to the mixture. Then scoop some of the mixture into a chard leaf.

Wrap and repeat! But...I thought they looked a little bare.

So I drizzled some olive oil on them as well as a sprinkle of paprika.

Place in the oven (400F) for 10-15 minutes.

Beware: mushrooms release a lot of water! Need a little spice? Add some salsa to the side. Or inside! (I should have thought of that beforehand).

Fun fact: greens contain the most nutrients per calorie of all vegetables!