Kale is growing in popularity in recent years, at least in the nutrition and culinary circles. But what about us, the simple folk with kids at home that will barely touch a lettuce and tomato salad? Not to mention a multitude of adults who admit that they have never tried kale before.
Kale, in its raw form, just isn’t pleasing to most people’s palate. There, we said it.
That’s a shame, because it’s probably the healthiest food known to man. One cup of kale contains just 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber (20% of your daily requirement). It has 15% of the daily requirement of calcium, 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and a whopping 1,000% (yes ONE THOUSAND percent) of vitamin K. Kale is packed with minerals such as copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.
So here are three simple steps to get your kale on:
1. Kale chips. OK, these are more of a snack than real food, and they usually have many other ingredients added. But they can serve as a gateway food to get your palate and psyche ready for step 2.
2. Add kale to your smoothie or soup. Wash 3 to 5 stems and chop them up. Toss them into the blender with the rest of the ingredients you use in a smoothie, or dice them and add to most any soup you are preparing.
Ready for step 3?
3. Sauteed Kale. Wash an entire head of Kale and pat each of the stems dry. Chop or tear into 2 inch pieces. Heat a saucepan and add 1 TBSP of olive oil. When really hot (but not smoking), toss in the Kale. It may initially seem like too much kale, but the heat will soon lead to major shrinkage. Mix the kale well to get all the pieces near the heat. You want the kale to soften but not to totally wilt. The whole saute episode should last no more than 2-3 minutes. Remove the kale from the saucepan and salt. Enjoy!
Tell us, how do you incorporate kale into your diet?
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