Whether you are new to eating greens or looking for ways to add some colour to your meals, kale appeals to everyone’s taste buds.
Eating greens will help keep you healthy.
Let me introduce to you the versatile kale. It is called a superfood, as it has many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron just to name a few; all of which are important for you and your growing baby.
The most common type of kale found in grocery stores is curly kale. It looks exactly how it sounds with dark green or deep purple curly leaves and a firm thick stem. When shopping for kale avoid wilted and yellow coloured leaves. Store kale in a sealed plastic bag or container, making sure to dry the excess moisture with a paper towel. Kale can be kept for about 1 week in the refrigerator.
Mix kale with your favourite leafy greens as a salad, or add it to a smoothie for that extra boost of nutrition. Sauté with chickpeas or lentils for a meatless option, or bake it for a crisp healthy snack. You can eat both the leaves and the stem. Remember to chop the leaves and stem finely if eating it raw.
Here are my two favourite kale recipes:
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
| Kale | 1 bunch |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (15 ml) |
| Salt | 1 tsp (1 ml) |
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Using your hands, remove the kale leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with paper towel, kitchen cloth or a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. With your fingers, massage oil into the kale leaves.
- Bake until the edges brown but are not burned, about 8-10 minutes.
Makes approximately 8 servings
Nutrition Information
Per serving: 30 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 85 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fibre, 0 g sugar, 1 g protein, 4% DV calcium, 2% DV iron, 2% DV potassium.
Kale and chick peas
Ingredients
| Extra-virgin olive oil | 3 tbsp (45 ml) |
| Onion, finely chopped | 1 |
| Garlic cloves, thinly sliced | 2 |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp (1 ml) |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp (1 ml) |
| Kale, chopped (packed) | 10 cups (2.5 L) |
| Lemon rind, grated | 1 tsp (5 ml) |
| Water | 3/4 cup (175 ml) |
| Chick peas, cooked (or canned, drained and rinsed) | 1 cup (250 ml) |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp (15 ml) |
Directions:
- Heat 2 tbsp (30 ml) of oil over medium heat in a large shallow pot or pan.
- Cook onion, garlic, salt and pepper for about 4 minutes or until softened.
- Stir in kale and lemon rind. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes or until slightly wilted.
- Pour in water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until kale is tender.
- Stir in chickpeas and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until no liquid remains. Stir in remaining oil.
Makes 10 servings
Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 100 calories, 5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 3 g fibre, 2 g sugars, 3 g protein, 4% DV calcium, 6% DV iron, 2% DV potassium.
For more information about kale, check out Unlockfood.ca
Don’t forget to share your creative cooking ideas with us in the comments below.
