All Hail to Kale

All Hail to Kale

I have this strange new obsession.  Luckily it’s good for me!  For the past couple weeks, I’ve eaten kale almost every day.  It’s like I’m making up for lost time—previously I had always shunned the “king of the cruciferous.”  I’m not sure why—I think I assumed that kale would be bitter, or maybe I just always associated it with vile-looking detox smoothies.  But a couple of things converged that led to this new food love.  First, I am editing an upcoming book (to be published in the Fall), called KICKING CANCER IN THE KITCHEN.  It’s written by two cancer survivors, who used good food to help them through their treatment, recovery, and (happily) remission.  What Annette and Kendall found was that once they changed their eating habits, they looked and felt better than they ever had before.  Their book provides 100 recipes for anyone who is interested in eating well to prevent cancer (and shouldn’t that be all of us?).  Sure enough, they are big fans of kale.  It’s called “king of the cruciferous” because it truly reigns in its “warding off cancer” abilities. Oh, and it lowers cholesterol and detoxifies the system too.  Once I heard of these impressive benefits, I knew I had to get more kale into my life.

As it happened, I found that my local Trader Joe’s provides kale already washed and cut. I admit, I’m kind of a princess when it comes to produce.  I don’t like to get my hands dirty:  When I peruse the farmer’s market (can I admit this?) I get a little put-off by seeing the veggies covered in grainy dirt.  And sorry, but after a long hard day, I just don’t feel like dousing my veggies through several baths before I can start making dinner.   But present produce to me already washed and cut, and I am good-to-go!  So if your local grocery store offers this pre-washed kale, I say that you have no excuse but to get into the kale habit.

Here are some good ways to have it:

1.       Saute the kale in a little olive oil.  After about a minute, give it a splash of veggie or chicken broth.  Put lid on pan and steam for about 5 minutes.  You want the kale to still be bright green, but just a little wilted.  Season with a dash of salt.  Then you have option of either putting over rice or pasta—or, you could throw some dried cherries into the kale.  The sweet/salty combo is divine.

2.       Top your pizza with kale.  My local organic pizza place, Jules, offers a delicious pizza topped with kale and apples.  Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.  I also make my own pizza about once a week—I top with kale during the last 5-10 minutes or so of oven time.  Don’t put the kale in at the beginning , or it will burn.

3.       Apparently you get more nutritional benefit from cooked kale, but raw kale is no slouch!  It’s still great for you.  Try it instead of lettuce for a salad.  Again, sprinkle it with raisins or dried cherries, or maybe some pumpkins seeds.

Ok, that should get you started on your own adventure with kale.  I promise, if you eat it every day for a week, you’ll thank me! ** The only caveat:  I heard that folks who take anti-coagulant drugs shouldn’t eat kale.  Apparently the high levels of Vitamin K in the kale somehow screws up the efficacy of the drug. 

Happy Kale-ing,

Jennifer