You can pack a big nutritional punch into a tiny amount of powdered greens. But buying these powders is expensive. We’re sharing how to make your own homemade super greens powder with produce from the store or your garden.
Dehydrating foods is a great method of food preservation. It’s very simple to grow enough greens to have extra to turn into a vegetable powder that’s packed with nutrition.
Are Powdered Greens Really Good For You?
Sometimes something that seems so simple can make us wonder if it’s really that good for you. So is harvesting greens, dehydrating them into a powder, then adding that powder to soups, stews or smoothies really that healthy?
The answer is YES! And the wonderful thing about making your greens into a powder is that you really don’t need much to get great nutritional benefits.
We all want to do the best we can when we can, which is why we love boosting our immune system throughout the year to be ready for any cold or flu that comes our way.
We also grow our own medicinal herbs in our Cottage Garden, some of which are a great addition to your super greens powder. Growing extra greens in the spring, summer, and fall can be the way to do this.
Can Greens Powder Replace Vegetables?
Now we all know that eating fresh, live food is best. A greens powder simply won’t have the same water and fiber content (and beneficial digestive aids) as dehydrated greens. But it is a real food supplement at a fraction of the cost of store-bought.
As often as is possible, we want to be eating fresh, organic, locally-grown green veggies. However, in the wintertime, it can be hard to source fresh greens, and those greens from the grocery store have likely traveled a very long way to reach your dinner table.
Adding in a teaspoon of homemade dried vegetables can be a great idea to supplement your diet to ensure you’re getting the vitamins and nutrients from the greens during the winter months.
What Do You Mix Green Powder With?
Your Super Greens Powder will work great mixed in with the following items, but really, the sky’s the limit with it comes to creatively using your greens powder.
- Smoothies
- Soups/Stews
- Scrambled eggs or omelet
- Casseroles
- Cookies and Quick Bread
- Granola Bars
- Fruit Leather
How Do You Make A Super Greens Powder?
There are multiple ways to go about dehydrating your greens, but the simplest method is as follows:
- Harvest greens (or forage for wild greens & herbs)
- Wash (if needed) & dry
- Arrange on a dehydrator tray
- Dehydrate 3-5 hours at 110 degrees until greens are crispy and completely dry
- Place into a food processor or high-powered blender and process until a fine powder
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark area (a mason jar works great!)
What Greens Can I Dehydrate for My Greens Powder?
- Lettuce/salad greens
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Kale
- Beet greens
- Carrot greens
- Dandelion greens
- Mustard greens
- Herbs
- Barley grass
- Wheatgrass
- Oat grass
- Alfalfa grass
- Brocolli
- Cabbage
Greens Powder Tips & Tricks
- If you watched the video above, I mention multiple ways to dehydrate your greens. My preferred method is to use my 9-tray dehydrator from Excalibur simply because it can handle many trays at a time and I’ve used it heavily for over 14 years now.
- You can also dehydrate your greens in the oven on a cookie sheet at the lowest temperature possible. Some ovens have a “warm” button that keeps their oven at about 100 degrees. This option works well.
- You can also leave your greens in the oven with either the pilot light or the oven light on and the door cracked just a bit to allow moisture to escape.
- The final option for drying your greens is to use the method I demonstrate in this Drying Culinary Herbs video.
Super Greens Powder
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Food Processor or High-Powered Blender
Ingredients
- 10 cups greens salad greens, beet tops, spinach, carrot tops, etc.
Instructions
- Harvest greens (or forage for wild greens & herbs).
- Wash (if needed) and dry well.
- Line dehydrator tray with greens.
- Dehydrate at 110 degrees (or less) for 3 hours or until greens are crispy and completely dry.
- Place dried greens into a food processor or high powered blender and process until completely powdered.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool dark cupboard.
Notes
- If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use a cookie sheet and dehydrate the greens in your oven with the light on and the door cracked. This method will take longer, so keep checking until greens are completely dry.
- Alternatively, if your oven has a “warm” feature, this is typically about 100 degrees and can work just as quickly as the dehydrator.
- Be sure greens are completely dry before processing as any moisture will cause greens to mold.
- Store greens in a cool, dark location away from light. You can also buy a dark amber-colored glass jar to prolong the life of your greens.
Nutrition
More Dehydration and Freeze Drying Resources
- Preservation 101 – Dehydrating Food
- Food Preservation – A Year at a Glance
- How to Dry Fresh Herbs
- Easy Homemade Egg Noodles Recipe
- Easy Fruit Leather Recipe – How to Make Fruit Leather That’s Soft & Chewy
- How to Freeze Dry Milk
- How to Freeze Dry Eggs
- How to Make Onion Powder From Scratch (Easy DIY Recipe)
- Homemade Garlic Salt (Easier & Better Than Store-Bought)
- Homemade Freeze Dried Corn
