Kale? Does anyone actually eat that?
You just might, if you desire super powers, and especially if you try kale chips (keep reading).
What makes kale well worth eating?
Kale is one of the healthiest foods available to us on the planet. It contains more nutritional value than many other green vegetables. It continues to gain a very good reputation for its cancer-fighting properties and extreme vitamin content. Getting technical for a sec, kale’s a primitive cabbage family member from the Brassica genus. It’s loaded with indoles (plant chemicals) which fight cancer, including ovarian and breast cancer. It’s very rich in calcium, protein, Omega 3’s, vitamin K, A, C and manganese, to name a few. It activates detoxifying enzymes in the liver (thus helps keep the liver in peak condition). Kale boosts these enzymes throughout the body to eliminate carcinogens quickly.
Is kale a superfood?
Not anymore. The term superfood has been banned. I’m not entirely clear on whether we’re permitted to call it a *super food* though. Super or not, kale is something we should all be eating.
Varieties of kale
1) Dinosaur kale: (pictured above) most intense green; thought to be the most beneficial kale, favored for growing in Italy
2) Red Russian kale: second darkest green kale, heirloom variety with sweet flavor
3) Dwarf blue kale: common in produce sections (currently growing in my garden)
Dwarf blue kale growing in my garden
4) Siberian: has ruffled blue-green leaves
5) Red Ursa: a cross between Red Russian and Siberian kale
And this site lists seven more varieties if you’re interested in growing your own kale
Ways to ENJOY eating it*
a) In soup
b) Pureed in any smoothy (I throw it in yogurt/berry smoothies. Find a plethora of ideas in the book Green For Life too.)
c) Sauteed alone, with onions/mushrooms or any other vegetable
d) Kale chips
*Buy kale organic. It’s one of the dirty dozen, produce most heavily doused in pesticides.
My favorite way to eat kale is in the form of chips, crunchy, oiled and salted. Kale chips are easy and tasty. Next time you want to reach for your salty store bought chips, try to satisfy your salt craving with these instead. I kid you not, it works.
Kale Chips Recipe**
1 bunch of (organic please) kale, any variety works great, rinsed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Trocomare organic seasoning salt (or sea salt)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2) Pull the kale leaves from the stems (optional) and tear into pieces (2 inch-ish)
3) Toss leaf pieces in medium bowl with extra virgin olive oil until all pieces are evenly coated
4) Arrange on 1-2 baking sheets, not overlapping
5) Lightly salt leaves with Trocomare salt (or sea salt)
6) Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes
7) Serve and eat immediately
**These are not for wee ones. They’re too pointy and crunchy for babies and toddlers to chew and swallow. The chip flakes will get stuck in your wee one’s throat. Feed your 6+ month old kale that’s been steamed, boiled in soup, sauteed, or pureed in a smoothy.
This batch was drizzled with EVOO on parchment paper
Finished product: no judging this book by its cover
Love kale!
Another great tip about kale is if you’re like me and can’t stomach it the first time you try it, try, try again. It was the heat of the summer when I first laid my lips on it, and honestly, after the taste I assumed it would be my last. But when the summer heat gave way to cooler temperatures, I gave it a try again, and what do you know, it was far more palatable!
The summer months can make the kale very bitter tasting. Frankly, the smell, in my opinion, is completely different. The cold weather really gives it a more mild flavor that is DELICIOUS in green smoothies. I now just give up the kale for the summer, exchanging it in my smoothies for chard usually.
I have also heard that the dinosaur kale is a lot more palatable during the hotter months of the year, but I never had much luck with that.
Wow. Kale chips sound great. I used to be a vegetarian and one of my fave dinners was kale sauteed with garlic, onions, sunflower seeds, soy sauce and seitan served over sushi rice.
I discovered kale chips at the farmers’ market. I’ve been addicted to the crunchy snack ever since. Thanks for sharing. I’ll try this recipe
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