We all know greens are good for us, yet most of us aren't eating enough of them. While this can be frustrating to my fellow nutritionists out there, I can understand why. Why would you choose a green salad over a burger at lunch with your friends? I mean, there's lettuce between the buns, so that's good enough? Right? 

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Often, it comes down to convenience, price and taste. But, there's something else that should be motivating you: your health.

Besides greens being full of vitamins and minerals, they can also help regulate our bowel movements (which gets a big tick from us here at Supercharged Food HQ). While you don't need to choose the green salad over the burger every time, the more you do, the better your health outcomes will be.

If you need some more convincing, here are six of my favourite benefits of greens:

1. They love your liver

Our liver's primary role is to metabolise the nutrients we eat, cleanse the blood and convert toxins into waste. While the liver naturally cleanses itself (even though ads for skinny teas may tell you otherwise), it may not be able to do its job adequately if it's constantly trying to detoxify alcohol, sugar, medication and external toxins.

This can cause us to feel sluggish, tired and can even contribute to weight gain. But, don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. Cruciferous vegetables, such as rocket, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, can help support stage two liver detoxification and reduce oxidative stress to assist liver clearance.

You can learn more about the art of cooking these types of vegetables here and get my recipe for Oven Baked Broccoli and Cauliflower Steaks. 

2. Improved cognitive ability 

Forget words with friends or sudoku (although they can be good too); if you want to keep your brain thriving as you age, leafy greens may be the answer.

According to a 2018 research study, one serving of leafy green vegetables a day may help slow down age-related cognitive decline.¹ Getting even one serving of greens in can increase mental agility and support cognition. 

3. Boost your energy 

If you're tired of feeling tired, greens may be the answer. Dark leafy green vegetables are rich in vitamin B, which help convert the foods we eat into energy. They're also rich in iron, calcium and vitamins A, C, K and E so they cover a lot of nutritional bases.

4. Hello, glowing skin

While there are plenty of antioxidants out there, carotenoids are one of my favourites. I know what you're probably thinking?,  – why would these be relevant? Well, carotenoids are antioxidant-rich and help neutralise free radicals to create glowing skin.

One of the most popular carotenoids is beta-carotene. Kale is one of the top sources of beta-carotene, which is sure to leaf your skin glowing. 😉

5. Support your immune system 

Our nose, mouth, ears and small intestines all make up part of the body's first line of defence against infection. What do all of these body parts have in common? They all secrete mucus (I know, sounds gross, but hear me out). Mucus helps help clear bacteria and pathogens from the body. If these mucus membranes are disrupted, pathogens can enter the body and cause colds and flu.

Luckily, green vegetables, such as spinach, dandelion greens and broccoli, can help repair these mucus membranes so you can help your immune system do its job. 

6. They shower your gut with love 

Raise your hand if you've ever struggled with a leaky gut or food sensitivities? Me too! If your hand's raised, you'll likely benefit from increasing your green vegetable intake.

Green veggies can inhibit pathogenic bacteria and support the growth of good bacteria. Plus, the fibre within green veggies can assist digestion and absorption.

Fulvic Humic Concentrate is another natural way to promote good gut health and support you eating more greens, as it goes beyond probiotic supplementation, by supporting the integrity of the gut lining and strengthening its tight junctions, (it's great for IBS and leaky gut) whilst replenishing microbiota, nutrients and enzymes. This super nutrient food aids the absorption of important nutrients, decreases acidity and enhances your cells use of antioxidants and electrolytes.

Sounds great, but how can you actually eat more greens? 

1. Green Powders and Gut Supportive Ingredients

You may have heard of "superfood" green powders that include wacky-sounding ingredients such as chlorella and spirulina, but what you may not know is that these foods can act as powerful probiotics. 

Spirulina is comprised of more than 70 per cent protein, as well as vitamin E, chlorophyll and fatty acids. Chlorella is a green microalga filled with chlorophyll, protein and carotenoids. Chlorophyll, found in both spirulina and chlorella, is a powerful probiotic in the gut. You can mix these powders into a glass of water or add them to green smoothies.

The best way to have them is with my Love Your Gut powder or Love Your Gut Capsules which not only keep the gut cleaned and toned but also they'll allow the body to absorb more of the good stuff that you're eating or drinking. 

2. Soups

Making homemade vegetable soup doesn’t need to be tricky and can quickly become a crowd favourite, especially when it tastes as good as My Sweet Potato, Broccoli and Ham Soup pictured above. This soup is so delicious and easy to throw together. It’s also great to freeze, for use as a quick midweek work meal. You can add any amount of greens to it too. 

Look at this greened up pesto!

3. Pesto

Okay, seriously, who doesn’t love pesto? The best part about pesto (besides the fact it rhymes with presto, and it too is a bit like magic) is that you can make it with literally any dark green vegetable and herb you have.

I’ll add kale, basil or mint into my blender with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and presto – you have pesto! If you’re looking for inspiration, here’s my Basil Pesto recipe. 

4. Smoothies

If you want to trick increase your loved one’s intake of vegetables, smoothies are my go-to. I add a handful of spinach, kale or celery (or, sometimes, all three) to my smoothie to boost my nutrient intake. 

My favourite gut-friendly green smoothie is this Microalgae green smoothie. I would consider this a mid-level green smoothie, packing a green punch with spinach, cucumber and celery. Don't worry; it's still sweet and creamy with the help of frozen banana and blueberries. 

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think about it in the comments section below. 

MICROALGAE GREEN SMOOTHIE 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen banana 
• 1/2 cup blueberries 
• Handful spinach 
• 1/2 cucumber 
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 tsp Love Your Gut powder
• 1 Scoop of Supercharged Food Greens Powder, Mushrooms and Adaptogens
• fresh lemon juice 
• 1/2 cup water 

Method:

Blend in a high-speed blender until smooth.

Research:

¹Morris, M. C., Wang, Y., Barnes, L. L., Bennett, D. A., Dawson-Hughes, B., & Booth, S. L. (2018). Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline: Prospective study. Neurology, 90(3), e214–e222. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000004815

Just like any other business, the constant struggle for blog owners is driving traffic to their website. Whether your passion is fashion, travel, or automobiles, some niches are trendy while others are timeless.

One industry that I'm passionate about is food blogging. Starting a food blog is fun but as easy it is sounds, blogging requires special skills as there are millions of people across the globe in search of interesting food ideas that cater to different diets and so working on the content that people want to read and access is key..

As much as mastering your cooking skills and perfecting recipes is important, so is keeping your audience entertained and satisfied so creating great content will make your blog alot more appealing to them.

There are several techniques you can implement to drive more traffic to your food blog and I'd love to share with you today my top 7 things you can consider to increase the popularity of your blog.

Know your Niche 

When building a website, having a clear theme that will be constant in all your web pages and blogs is important. When you recognize your niche its easier to create content that reaches the right audience and generates traffic.

A food blog can consist of a variety of topics such as recipes, restaurant reviews, food product reviews, cooking techniques and so much more. There is no right and wrong when it comes to blogging but in order to drive traffic to your website, paying attention to your audience and comments is helpful. 

Be consistent 

Consistency is something that bloggers end up taking lightly which can amount to a loss of online visitors. The more regularly you update your blogs with relevant content, the more traffic you'll receive. People are always in search of sites that have new and updated content. This improves your site’s credibility, so ensure that you stick to a particular schedule and maintain consistency. Outdated blogs can increase the bounce rates of your site and impact your website ranking on search engines. Creating fresh and unique content will keep your subscribers interested and your blog more appealing.

Take Great Photos 

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog is through high-quality images. Most smartphones can deliver good quality photos that can make your food look so tasty! 

Some food bloggers who have made blogging their career like to invest in good equipment to enhance the quality of their photos and videos to attract more people to their website.

A good rule of thumb is to do your research and pick up tricks and tips on how to capture the food you create in the most creative way, natural light always works best.  This will improve your exposure and reach to enabel to you find a wider audience. 

Food blog SEO

As most of you may already know, SEO is the heart and soul of increasing visibility on search engines. Not only does it help in brand awareness but also builds a strong online presence.

With the food industry being so vast, optimizing your food blog with SEO is essential to driving more traffic. For those looking to refine their strategies further, exploring advanced techniques and insights on effective digital marketing strategies can provide a significant boost.

The first thing to do is familiarise yourself with different SEO techniques and find ways to implement them in your food blog. 

• Keywords: The foundation of any SEO strategy is keywords that will boost your visibility and drive traffic to your blog. Small, medium and long-tail keywords that are less competitive can increase the chances of your blogs being seen on search engines. 
• Optimize Images: As much as high-quality images are useful, adding the right alt text and inserting the appropriate image size can increase the visibility of your blog.
• Linking: Earn backlinks from authoritative sites and internally link to your past blogs can increase web traffic to your food blog and makes your site more trustworthy. 
• Web host provider: An excellent hosting service will provide great website speed, security, web design, and so much more that can be quite useful for a food blogger. Hosting Foundry has reviewed some of the best hosting services that can work best for your food blog. 

Creating the Right Content 

As mentioned before, the industry is vast and a variety of topics to choose from, bloggers often wonder what kind of content to put up on their site.

While some bloggers focus on a single particular topic that is local and effective. Whereas others focus on a wider genre of food topics that cater to all foodies across the globe.

Creating engaging and interactive content that has high-quality value will have people flocking to your site.

Try out different recipes that are attractive to your target audience, create listicle pieces, giveaway posts, quality foods, images, and videos to make your blogs look great.

Writing guest blogs is another great way to bring traffic to your website. Just make sure that sites you write for are relevant to your niche or else you will be writing for audiences that are not interested in what you offer. 

Social Media 

Social media can be your best bet in promoting your food blogs and building awareness. It also gives you an opportunity to engage directly with your followers and interact with them on a personal level.

Grow your social profiles by uploading your blog posts with attractive and high-quality images. Allow social sharing on your profiles so once your followers share your post, it will be able to reach a wider audience and attract more people to your profile.

Update your profiles with all necessary information in regards to your blog such as website link, blog name, contact information, and so on. By doing so, people will not only visit your social channels but also look further into your website.

Mobile-friendly Website

In today’s digital world, every website on the internet must have a mobile-friendly website. Search engines have made it a crucial ranking factor, so if you want to drive traffic to your website, you must have a mobile-friendly website.

For those who love looking up recipes and cooking, it can difficult to be in the kitchen with a laptop or a desktop, right? This is where smart devices come in handy. With modern technology, you can easily access the internet through your smart devices and look-up for favorite recipes.

It is important to note, optimizing your mobile site must have good readability, great speed, easy website navigation, and much more.

Remember, no matter what technique you invest in your food blog, nothing happens overnight. It takes time and patience to consistently make necessary changes that work best for your blog.

Monitor, track, and re-test different strategies until you find the best tactic that drives more traffic to your website.