How much kale do you eat every week?
Kale is a special food.
Packed with nutrients and antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin–which benefit your eyesight–kale represents a “superfood,” one of nature’s finest offerings.
Aside from its nutrition (which you can explore in more depth here), kale is tasty, too! It’s versatile, it blends easily, and it tastes fine raw or cooked. You can throw kale in just about anything, and it will kick up the dish.
If you haven’t tried it yet or if you don’t eat it regularly, pick up some kale and try these three recipes.
While smoothies are sometimes positively unhealthy with added sugars and syrups, this kale smoothie will provide a nice boost of vitamins and minerals and no extra sweets!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 cups kale
- One banana
- ½ cup blueberries
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2/3 cup orange juice
Add these ingredients to your blender, and fire it up until it’s one consistent offering. The banana and berries will cover up the taste of the kale, so if liquefying veggies sounds a little nasty to you, don’t worry! You won’t even know it’s there. But your body will, and it will thank you.
Of all the ways to prepare kale, sautéing it might be the easiest (and potentially the tastiest, too!). While you can easily just combine kale and olive oil over medium high heat for a yummy side dish, famous chef Bobby Flay has a recipe which I personally love.
All you’ll need is
- olive oil (three tablespoons),
- kale (a little over a pound, leaves chopped),
- two cloves of garlic (finely sliced),
- vegetable stock (1/2 cup)
- red wine vinegar (two tablespoons)
Heat your oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until it’s soft (make sure it’s not colored, though! You don’t want to burn it.). Crank up the heat to high and add your vegetable stock and kale, stirring and tossing to ensure an even coat across all the leaves.
Cover and cook for five minutes.
Remove cover, stir until all the liquid has evaporated. Add vinegar and salt/pepper to taste.
Use this as a side dish for your next chicken or fish dinner, and enjoy!
Baked kale chips are the perfect alternative to potato chips.
It might not seem like a veggie could ever replace the crunchy, salty taste of a potato chip, but kale chips are delicious, and they’re loaded with nutrition.
You’ll need:
- Olive oil
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Remove your kale from the stem and cut/hand shred the leaves into chip-sized pieces. Wash kale, place on pan, and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle the kale with sea salt and bake until crispy (usually 10-15 minutes).
As a quick note: kale burns incredibly quickly in this recipe (I know from experience!). Monitor the chips closely as they’re in the oven. Check them at 10 minutes. If the edges are brown, they’re done. If the kale is still limp, check again around 12-13 minutes.