All my life I had cold hands and feet and would stay awake at night, no matter how many blankets I used, unable to sleep. I have reversed that condition. Perhaps what I learned will be helpful to you.

Remember all those cute pictures of fruits and vegetables that resemble body parts and – amazingly – they are beneficial for those same body parts? I now know which food is good for keeping the veins and capillaries that feed the extremities, open and flowing, regardless of temperature.

I ate ‘raw’ for several years and although it seemed logical to me to eat raw in the hot summertime, when it would start to get cold, I’d think about soups – to “warm” myself. I’d make a yummy soup and my tummy would be happy and warm, but my hands and feet, fingers and toes got colder than ever and I was sleepless again.

Watching deer walking around in the snow in my front yard, seemingly as comfortable as they were in the summer, eating the same plants and bushes, it appeared they didn’t suffer from the cold… and they didn’t eat soup. So as a bold and daring experiment, I decided to “buck” my “soup in cold weather” programming and returned to eating all ‘raw’ foods again. I focused heavily on dark, green, leafy vegetables – and my hands and feet were WARM again. I slept soundly, with warm hands and feet.

Since the dear deer eat almost 100% greens, I started thinking that it might be the greens that air-conditioned me. They don’t just keep me warm in the winter, they also keep me cool in the summer. Dark, green, leafy vegetables that my body loves in the cold also cool my body in the warm weather. It’s all about circulation.

Take a peek at any leaf. There is a main vein down the center, but then there are lots smaller veins that lead to tiny little capillaries that then extend all the way to the ends of the leaves.

Not only are the veins and capillaries reminiscent of our own, but the chemical formula of chlorophyll is only one ion different than the chemical formula of hemoglobin – the foundation of blood. Ingesting chlorophyll is like getting a shot of hemoglobin. And in fact, during war, when they have run out of blood for transfusions, they have successfully used chlorophyll juice. Greens are quite literally the life blood of plants and contain everything we humans need for healthy blood.

I have not experimented further. I do not know whether cooked greens are as beneficial as raw greens. It is my guess that cooked greens are better for you than no greens at all. And I remember that a friend, many years ago in Kansas, said that when she felt a cold coming on, she’d eat an entire package of frozen spinach and she’d never get the cold. Another bit of anecdotal information is that when even carnivorous animals are sick, they eat grass and other leaves.

And the good news is: you can make raw greens as or more delicious than cooked. There is something called “massaging” the greens. and it can be done with your hands, even with wooden rice paddles or in your food processor if you have a dough-kneading attachment. If you have made bread and know how to knead bread, you can do the same to greens. Just fold them over and lean your weight onto them, and continue until they are nice and soft. Whatever method you use, just work the greens until they are relaxed, limp, sensuous – and then put a lovely dressing on them… or start with the dressing on them and massage it into them.

Or you might prefer to slice them into ribbons and marinate them in olive oil and lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) and salt – maybe with sliced onion or garlic – for a couple of hours before dinner. Honestly, I can eat an entire bouquet of collards or kale prepared in this way – they are so delicious. And if you wish, you can put them in the frig in a covered container and marinate them for days.

Another wonderful way to eat greens is to make kale chips. Throw into your blender or food processor: a tomato or two, a large red bell pepper, some garlic, a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper – and then add as much nutritional yeast as you wish – 1/4 to 1/3 cup – to make it taste somewhat like cheese. Wash your kale in a large bowl – any type – curly, italian, plain – and drain it well. Then add the cheesy mixture and work it through every leaf. I use a dehydrator at 105°F (43°C) for several hours or even a day – until the chips are crisp, but some people use their oven at the lowest temperature possible,, and it takes only a few minutes. This is a crisp, healthy, tasty, nutritious alternative to corn and potato chips. Kids love them!

At any rate, I hope that we all can soon grow organic food forests all over the globe so that we can have kale and chard and collards and herbs, etc growing right outside, ready to pick at any time.

Outside my front door is a large planter box with oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint and parsley. As I leave the house, on my way to a meeting or the store, I have been known to pick a sprig of an herb and chew it in the car. If you do this, just remember to check your teeth in the mirror before you get to your destination – to prevent that “spinach between your teeth” phenomenon, you know.

Copyright Patricia Robinett 2015. Feel free to share with attribution.