Green Egg Sandwich with Fresh Spring Pesto

After long winters, when our diet was mostly made out of cooked food, our bodies craved fresh nutrients and the vibrating energy of fresh ingredients. Nothing makes me happier than the first spring greens at the farmers’ market. When I see these, I know the time of big changes have come. The time of renewing our bodies energy, the time of liver restoring and the time of new healthy choices.

Spring greens are the main ingredient to base your diet on while in spring. They carry the earth energy and have amazing nutritional values. Spring greens are loaded with chlorophyll, an excellent source of oxygen for our body cells, with minerals (calcium, iron and magnesium) and vitamins (A, C and K), but also with phytonutrients with antibacterial and antimicrobial effects (especially wild garlic).

The vitamins in spring greens act as a neutralizer of the free radicals, helping the body cells to renew their structure, while their minerals act as a regulator of the nutrient exchanges in the cell membrane.

There are many spring greens with renewing properties: nettles, fresh spinach, watercress or wild garlic. Consuming these raw is the best way to take the maximum benefits from their amazing nutrients. Also, lightly steaming them or lightly cooking them is another way of serving them and still preserving most of their nutrients. I like to combine fresh spring greens with other spring vegetables, such as peas, artichoke or asparagus, and the vibrant green of the dishes always inspires me and makes me eat with pleasure.

I don’t like to make complicated dishes when so many ingredients and aromatic herbs are in season. I love to keep things simple, and always prefer a quick healthy sandwich to a dish that takes hours to make and doesn’t have too many nutrients left. Today I opted for a simple sandwich, loaded with fresh nutrients from different spring greens and peas, but also with a source of quality protein and selenium, as well as a poached egg.

I made a quick pesto out of the fresh greens, a soft poached egg, all packed between healthy rye bread. The extra virgin olive oil I use for the pesto is a healthy fat that helps the body to better absorb the antioxidants (especially beta-carotene) from the egg-yolk and fresh greens. Everything was ready in no time, and the sandwich is amazing. Spring food at its best!

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