Sounds silly doesn’t it? I always thought Kale was just a garnish, so, why would I buy it for my home consumption?
But I discovered that Kale has amazing nutritional qualities as a dark green vegetable. I was curious.
First, it’s in the Brassica family, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. It’s high in vitamin A, phytochemicals, beta carotene, sulforaphane, and is super-low in calories and high in fiber.
But still, anything that’s that good for you can’t taste great, can it?
WRONG!
Here’s how I encountered my first raw Kale salad. I was at my local Whole Foods Market, getting my “green drink.” (My naturopath, Lisa has me drinking a yummy veggie mixture of celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, cilantro and carrot juice – which is reducing the acidic nature of my body.) While they were making my green drink on Saturday, I looked over at the prepared food display and saw a large serving dish piled high with chopped Kale.
As I moved closer to read the ingredients, I decided to get a free taste. Wow – it was yummy! So good, in fact, that I bought a small container of it for lunch.
There are several different types and colors of Kale. “Scotch” types have gray-green and very curled and crumpled leaves, while “Siberian” types are blue-green and less curled (like this photo of Italian Kale). In 1983, a longtime produce friend, John Moore, introduced a new and colorful variety of flowering Kale, called Salad Savoy.
Unfortunately, I think many people are like me, and think of it only as a garnish. I think every supermarket in America has some kind of Kale in their produce department. From now on, I am not going to walk right by it…I’m going to give Kale the respect it deserves and buy some to enjoy!
I encourage you to try this power- packed veggie. By the way, you can also cook Kale like you would spinach. Or, you can even bake it into Kale Chips!
Here’s the easy-to-make Kale Salad recipe that I tasted for lunch:
KALE SALAD
1 Head Kale, washed and coarsely chopped
Sliced Strawberries
Handful of Pine Nuts
Lemon juice
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Depending on your personal preference for the amount of each ingredient, toss lightly and serve.
Get your daily dose of vitamin A…and try some Kale!
Karen