All About Kale

Celebrate veggies all year long with a new vegetable each week! This week we’re highlighting kale.

I’m celebrating Veggies All Year, and this week’s veggie is Kale.

Yes, I know everyone is obsessed with kale. You can’t go to Foodgawker or Pinterest without seeing a recipe for kale in the first five rows of pictures.

There’s good reason for the kale obsession: it’s really good for you. How good for you? Let’s check out kale’s nutrition facts…

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Kale Nutrition:

*1 cup raw chopped kale ~ 33 calories, 0.5g fat, 0.1g saturated fat, 6.7g carbohydrates, 1.3g fiber, 2.2g protein, 134% Vitamin C, 206% Vitamin A, 9% Calcium, 9% Potassium, 684% Vitamin K, 10% Copper, 26% Manganese, 121mg Omega 3’s

Kale Fun Facts:

*Kale is a member of the cabbage family; therefore, it is a cruciferous vegetable {like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.}

*It has a strong and/or bitter flavor that pairs well with rich dishes like meats.

*There are many different types of kale. Common varieties are green kale, red kale, and lacinato kale.

*Like many plants, kale offers multiple benefits: inflammation lowering, cancer fighting, and antioxidant powers.

*Both raw kale and cooked kale offer tons of health benefits. Raw kale provides more of certain vitamins but cooked kale allows for other vitamins & minerals to be better absorbed in your body. Cooked kale also has higher immune boosting rates and cholesterol lowering effects than q {but both are helpful}.

*Glucosinolates {natural plant chemicals} found in kale are beneficial for fighting multiple different cancers as well as offering support for the body’s natural detoxification system.

Kale Tips:

*Look for bright-colored, crisp leaves that show little signs of wilting, discoloration, or insect damage.

*Wrap your kale in plastic and store in the fridge for about 3-5 days. It’s best if you wash right before serving. If your kale starts to wilt, you can easily revive the kale by filling a bowl with ice water and letting the kale sit in the ice water for a few minutes. Dry well and your kale should be back to its crispy, leafy self again.

*One bunch of kale is about 12 ounces and is 12 cups chopped

*Kale is available year-round but its peak season is in the colder months and very beginning of spring.

*The Environmental Working Group recommends that kale be organic if you consume it often. It isn’t on the Dirty Dozen list but it is commonly pesticide contaminated.

*Lacinato kale {otherwise known as dinosaur kale, black kale, or Tuscan kale} has much darker leaves but it is known to be lighter in flavor than regular curly green kale. I did a taste test and completely agree with this statement. I’ve always purchased the curly green kale, but the lacinato kale is the way to go as it is much easier to ease yourself into the world of kale.

Kale Recipes:

Lentils with Sausage and Kale

Kale Caesar Salad

Kale-amole

Miso Brown Rice with Kale Bowl

Crispy Pasta with Kale and Parmesan

Smoky Kale Soup

Black Bean and Kale Tacos

Kale, Artichoke, and Ricotta Pie

Kale Chips {that aren’t gross}

For more recipes, I turned to some of my favorite blogs to give you more inspiration for how to include kale in your diet.

• • Kale & Chicken Quinoa Salad from fANNEtastic food
  • Sweetpotato & Kale Tostadas from Teaspoon of Spice
  • Spicy Sausage Lentil & Kale Soup from The Lean Green Bean
  • Kale with Toasted Walnuts & Parmesan from Marisa Moore Nutrition
  • Greek Tacos with Kale and Creamy Feta Sauce from Rachael Hartley Nutrition
  • Vegetarian Pumpkin and Kale Pasta Bake from MJ and Hungryman
  • Vegan Kale and Mushroom Miso Soup from The Foodie Dietitian {guest post on Delicious Knowledge}
  • Minty Kale Limeade Mocktails from immaeatthat

Be sure to come back this week to get some recipes and eat #veggiesallyear!

Meme

What are your thoughts on kale – love it, hate it, or don’t care? What’s your favorite way to eat kale?