I grow a range of different greens. These leaves have awesome nutritional attributes.
But the problem is either finding an excuse to add them to the menu or their taste or texture sabotages my desire to eat them.
I've researched leafy greens for years and knew all about dry leaf powder but only recently have I begun to explore the comestible medium itself.
It's an easy DIY.
While my first experiment was with Chaya, today I dried Moringa leaves and blended them with a low amount of Katuk.
In the image, the desiccated leaves are on the right and the powder makings on the left.
Moringa is fiddly to dry straight from the bush as you get a lot of leaf stems, so leaving the harvest to dry naturally before proceeding is a good idea in order to facilitate the separation of the leaf from the stem before putting in the dehydrator.
Chaya, in contrast, is so much easier. I parboil the leaves first, pull them apart and then dry them before grinding/blending.
In the kitchen, it's a spoonful here or there added to the dish of your choice. Sprinkled on grilled cheese, in soups and stews, add to smoothies or yogurt. I add the powder to ferments like Kimchi and drink it mixed into Kombucha.
Powdered Moringa is almost tasteless. Blended with Katuk (aka Sweet Leaf) you'll get a flavour boost.
Leafy greens dry quickly in the dehydrator so, as a protocol, it isn't too much spent energy.
And there is no waste. I can fossick outback for greens -- a bit of this and that -- then process the harvest into powder.
