Kale is a “Powerhouse” of nutrients. It is one of your best sources of beta-carotene, an antioxidant. It also possesses important carotenoids- lutein and zeaxathin. Kale is also a source of well-absorbed calcium as well as vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin B6, manganese and potassium. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk and 10x more vitamin c than spinach.
Click here to read about kale on The World’s Healthiest Foods website.
Recipes
Kale Chips
There are many different seasonings that you can use on Kale Chips. I’ll give you the basic recipe and some suggested toppings.
Ingredients: Large bunch of kale, 4 teaspoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of sea salt.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Wash and thoroughly dry the kale.
- Separate the leaves from the main stem and tear leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil
- Use hands to mix kale with the olive oil making sure leaves are evenly coated and not soggy.
- Spread the kale on a cookie sheet
- Bake for 10-20 minutes, checking on it frequently so that it doesn’t burn.
- You can turn it halfway through if necessary.
- Kale is done when the edges are brown and leaves look dry.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Eat and Enjoy!
Additional Toppings: Nutritional yeast is great because it has a nutty/cheesy flavor, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese and any other seasonings that you might have in your cupboard. You can also try different flavored oils such as sesame oil, flavored olive oil, etc.
Kale Salad
Ingredients: 1 bunch of lacinato or dinosaur kale, 1/3 cup of currants or raisins, juice of one lemon, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 tsp. honey, ½ cup of toasted pine nuts, 4 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Prepare kale by rinsing and thoroughly drying.
- Remove leaves from stems.
- Process kale into small, chopped pieces in a food processor.
- To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
- Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing.
- Stir all ingredients together and serve
- For presentation purposes you can save some Parmesan cheese and pine nuts for the top of the salad.
