All Hail Kale!

Kale is truly the “it” vegetable right now. You can even get a t-shirt proclaiming your love of this leafy green vegetable, and that’s saying something. If you haven’t jumped on the kale bandwagon yet, I’m here to help you out. This veggie is packed with omega 3, omega 6, tons of calcium, vitamin A, Vitamin C, and it’s low in carbs and fats! Keep in mind when cooking kale, that a head may seem like a lot of food in our pan, but it does reduce quite a bit through cooking. You’ll be receiving a mixed variety of kale this week, so here’s kale three ways to get you started.

 

My favorite kale creation is Kale Chips, and it’s super simple. All measurements are approximate.

1. Take one head of kale and tear the leaves off the stem into roughly 2 inch pieces

2. In a mixing bowl, massage kale with 1 TBSP olive oil, 2 TBSP Garlic (more or less depending on if you’ve got a date that night), 2 tsp salt, and about 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, which adds a nice nutty creamy taste.

3. Pop this onto a tray, and into the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

4. Voila! You have a crunchy, salty snack that satisfies your vegetable cravings

 

Another go-to kale use is sauteed, it makes a great side dish or a “bed” for any of your favorite proteins.

1. Use the whole head this time, including the stems and roughly chop into roughly 2 inch pieces.

2. Heat apx. 3 tbs of a healthy oil (olive, grapeseed etc) in a pan and sautee some garlic (added to taste).

3. Once garlic has become fragrant, and the burner is at med. heat, add 1/2 cup of vegetable stock or some other liquid, sometimes I use 1/4 cup vegetable stock and 1/4 cup of lemon juice in the summer. Add the kale and put a lid on it for about 5 minutes until kale is softened and liquid absorbed.

4. Put that on a plate nice and pretty and enjoy a healthy addition to dinner!

 

Lastly, I can’t write a post about kale without mentioning juicing. If you have a juicer, or can borrow one from a friend, juicing is a great way to have a lot of veggies at one time. I often take some of the fruits and veggies from my doorganics bin (like pear, carrot and kale) and make a quick juice for on-the-go mornings. You can also try popping a kale leaf or two into your morning smoothie.

 

I hope these ideas inspire you to embrace kale and try something new! We look forward to hearing if anyone tried out a new kale recipe, Happy Eating!