For the longest time, I was afraid of kale. Weird, right? I just thought it was incredibly intimidating to use since I had not grown up using kale as one of my “go to” greens. I grew up eating romaine and spinach, but that was about as far as my green comfort zone went.
I don’t think I even ate kale until last year, and I have to tell you — it was love at first taste. Kale is one of those greens that is hearty and so versatile, even more so than any other green I eat!
The nutritional stats of kale are incredible. Just one cup of cooked kale provides over 1000% of your daily Vitamin K needs, as well as 350% of Vitamin A and 88% of your Vitamin C needs (source). Kale is also rich in antioxidants that have been shown to have anti-cancer health benefits — not to mention kale is low in calories and is full of fiber with 5 grams per serving.
There are a few types of kale, each one delicious with the same types of nutritional value.
| Kale (most common variety) |  |
| Dino Kale |  |
| Russian Kale (slight pink hue) |  |
It wasn’t that I never wanted to try kale — it’s that I was scared to use it! Whenever I saw kale salads, the words “massage your kale” had me dumbfounded, so I usually just skipped over those recipes all together. I have discovered that kale is just as easy to cook with and make delicious dishes with as any other green out there!
In Salads: Yes, you’re going to have to “massage” your kale. Once you get past the lingo, it’s really quite easy, and yes — you really do massage it. Kale tends to be a fairly bitter green, so by massaging your salad dressing into the leaves, it takes away some of the bitterness. My favorite way to dress up some raw kale greens is with olive oil, bragg’s liquid aminos, balsamic, Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper — it’s delicious! All I do is pour on the dressing and using my hands, rub the dressing into the greens for 3-4 minutes. It allows the dressing to absorb a little bit into the leaves — and no, it won’t get soggy if you pack it in the morning!
Chips: Kale chips are one of life’s greatest gifts. I’ve made kale chips multiple ways — in the dehydrator and in the oven on a low temperature. Either way is equally delicious — just use whatever appliance you have available! I have a recipe I love using for oven baked kale chips. If you have a dehydrator, use the same marinade/spices and just dehydrate until crisp!
Sautéed: I have been obsessed with sautéed kale lately — totally obsessed. I have been going through the pre-cut and washed bags of kale from Trader Joe’s like it’s my job. Sautéing kale is pretty comparable to cooking spinach. To do so, just heat oil in a skillet, add the kale (and perhaps a few tablespoons of water) and spices, stir frequently, cover, and cook until wilted. It takes a few more minutes to sauté kale than spinach since it’s a little heartier.
A few of my favorite kale recipes include the following:
Over Easy Savory Oatmeal with Kale
Butternut Squash and Kale Hash
For more Back to the Basics posts, visit the following links:
Question: What is your favorite way to use kale?
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }