Kale Kale Kale ( in Spanish known as col rizada, berza o repollo rizado )

Hello to all of you lovely people!!! Did you know that October 1st was the national Kale day? Do you know about Kale? If you don't or are unsure about how to use it it's your lucky day as I am here to introduce you to Kale and all it's goodness in just ten minutes.

Let's get started!!

Kale is a leafy green that comes from the cabbage family, can be classified by it's leaf type and can sometimes appear purple. It has been around since the end of the middle ages and even during World War II the cultivation of kale in the U.K. was encouraged by the Dig for Victory campaign. The vegetable was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to supplement those missing from a normal diet because of rationing.

Just one cup of raw kale…

contains just 33 calories
provides 134% of your daily vitamin C needs
provides 684% of your daily vitamin K needs
provides 204% of vitamin A
It's also an excellent source of calcium and iron

When choosing Kale, go organic if you can :) Kale is one of the items on the "dirty dozen list" ( a list of foods with the most pesticides) as published by the Environmental Working Group. Since Kale is hardy, inexpensive, and easy to grow organically, organic kale is close in price to conventional kale.

Cooking Kale does not damage the nutrients  as long as cooking is brief - 10 to 15 minutes at high heat or 35 minutes at lower heat when baking. Kale is also nutritious raw, ideal for salads, juicing, smoothies and cold blended soups.

It freezes great and as a cooking tip when preparing it for salads you can "massage" it with some lemon juice and salt...it smoothes it down and makes its taste heightened. 

Tips for freezing : 
*always wash before freezing,  
*remove excess water, 
*use zip lock bags or freezer air tight containers. Remove all air from the zip lock bag *freeze in usable daily portions for your convenience
*you may freeze it fresh or boil it for three minutes, straight away soak it in freezing          
water to stop the cooking process and then remove all water and freeze

Tips for refrigerating:  
*place in zip lock back and remove all excess air
*do not wash until you wish to use it

Let's get some recipes  :)

Baked Kale Chips

you will need kale, salt, olive oil or alternative cooking spray

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.

Step 2. Place the kale leaves on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Spritz with olive oil spray and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Step 3.  Bake in the oven until crispy, 5 - 8 mins, for a potato-chip-like snack.
Step 4. Enjoy eating it!!! yuuuuummyyyyy 

Kale Salads

The great thing about kale is that it goes with anything!!! get hold of your imagination, grab your favorites and put them all together for your favorite kale salad.

It is nice to massage the kale with some freshly squeezed lemon or lime and a pinch of salt before adding to a salad, also tossing it in the frying pan for 3-5 minutes is good.

Also finely chopping kale is a bonus for any salad you add it to.

As dressings anything from sesame oil based to soy sauce, fruit dressings and creams go perfect with it. Get to cooking!

http://thedish.plated.com/10-best-kale-salads-seriously/

Sautéed Kale with butternut squash

you will need:

1 

large bunch of kale, thick ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped (about 14 cups)

1 small butternut squash (about 2 pounds)—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1⁄2-inch pieces 

1/4 

cup 

fresh sage leaves 

2 

tablespoons 

plus 1 teaspoon olive oil or alternative 

salt and black peppe

r

Step 1. heat oven to 200 celsius. On a large baking sheet, toss the squab with the sage, 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Roast tossing once, until tender. 30-35 minutes

Step 2. When the squash has cooked for 20 minutes, heat one teaspoon of oil in a large pan add the garlic, toss and fragrant for 30 seconds and add the kale, 1/4 cup water a pinch of salt and cook and toss until the kale is tender. Aprox. 5-7 minutes.

Serve with the squash and enjoy!!!!!




Kale green mix juice 

This one is my favorite and I mixed and matched my greens until I found this match. You are more than welcome to add or remove greens from it. If you feel like you need a bit of a sweet taste add a green apple :)

1 bunch of kale
2 kiwis
2 fat cucumbers
1 bunch of parsley
3 stalks of celery
1 lime
1 bitter gourd if you like the bitter taste of it

Juice it all up and enjoy :)

Hope you at least try this super delicious green superfood either in your juice, salad, smoothie or as your lunch side dish :) and you then benefit from all its goodness 

By Rocio Arenas