Kale seems to be all the health rage lately, but it makes complete sense. It’s absolutely one of the most nutritious foods! This leafy green vegetable is famous for its exceptionally rich nutrients, huge health benefits, and fresh flavor. It is high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamins (A, C, & K), fiber, and antioxidants. Eating kale on a regular basis can significantly benefit your health by lowering your cholesterol, reducing your risk of getting heart disease, and cancer. Kale even helps prevent you from getting chronic diseases. With all the benefits that kale provides, it definitely should be part of our diet.
A very common question I get asked when talking to others about kale is, “What do I do with it?” My usual answer to them is to simply sauté it, but needless to say, that can sometimes get pretty redundant. So what did I do about it? I asked around and researched some of the many different ways to prepare kale. I picked out 9 of the easiest ones, and posted them to share with you.
So without further ado, here are 9 super simple ideas to add kale into your diet:
- Make a smoothie. Kale tastes great when blended with lemon juice, ginger, apple, banana, and dates. Yum!
- Put it in a salad. Kale is a bit tough, but if you squeeze it with your hands it will get softer. Then, just pour on your dressing of choice.
- Simmer it in soup. Kale is wonderful for soup because it softens up when you slowly simmer it.
- Put it on a sandwich. Place a leaf of kale on a sandwich or even on a burger just like you would with a lettuce leaf.
- Use a kale leaf as a wrap. Instead of using your basic tortillas to make wraps, try using a kale leaf.
- Stamp it. A classic Dutch dish called stamppot consists of simply stamping cooked kale and potatoes together to make green mash potatoes.
- Kale chips. This idea is an absolute favorite of mine, and it’s very addicting too. What I usually do is place kale leaves in a bowl and toss them with a little oil, organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar, and some nutritional yeast or sea salt. I don’t have a dehydrator, so I set the oven as low as it will go (200 degrees Fahrenheit), and place the kale chips in the oven for about 15 minutes or until crispy.
- Make it a pesto. Need a new pesto to dress for your pasta? Use kale as part of your pesto recipe! Purée garlic and kale in a food processor, add olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, and more for easy perfect pesto on your pasta or quinoa.
- Dip it. Yep, kale tastes super yummy when make it like spinach dip. You can simmer some cream or an alternative, mix in some chopped kale, lemon juice, chopped garlic, and there you have it. A delicious dip.
I greatly hope these ideas will help continue your journey with kale. If all 9 of these ideas are not for you, and you like sautéing better, then sauté away. Just do whatever you can to keep this great green veggie in your diet. Kale on my friends!
