Raise some Kale!

Move over Popeye with YO Spinachy-Self

Kale is the New Spinach!

That's right..... I said KALE!!!!!!  

Chances are, kale is not a normal food on your grocery list, but when you get through with reading this post, I bet you will be dashing to the nearest produce market and loading that basket with the beautiful bold green bunch.

Kale is my  2nd FAVORITE super food!  I love it!!!!!!

My first favorite, you ask?  

Hello?  Cocoa is my first!

 I am here to inform you that there are some surprising nutrients in this lovely curly leafed greenie.  

Packed gram for gram with more Vitamin C  than an orange,  vitamin K, (calorie for calorie) just as much protein as a steak, and all the necessary Alpha Linoleum Acid (ALA ) good fats.... you just can't NOT eat it!   

What is ALA you say?  Well basically, it is that omega 3 that we all need for optimum brain health, and  battles bladder, breast, colon, and ovarian cancers (to name a few).  

Why wouldn't anyone want to welcome this vibrant, nutrient dense veggie to the table?

Lets pretend that the battle Kale fights for our health is like a football game, shall we?  

The powerful key team players are:

 The Defensives:  Quercetin, Sulforaphane, ALA's
When I think of a defensive player, my first thought is a linebacker.  Linebackers are the portrait of toughness and grit in the game of football and the linebackers are usually the ones that make the tackle on any given play.
(My son plays football..... I know a little..... and I mean just a little)   Quercetin (linebacker) tackles inflammation and oxidative stress and prevents plaque build up in arteries so the rest of the team can deliver the nutrients needed for optimum health.  I won't go on and on with all the many nutrients in kale.  I don't know enough about football!  Sulforaphane, another linebacker is there too and, well I just know that they are armed and ready to get gritty and fight cancer!

The Offensives: carotenoids, flavonoids, ALA's
Offensively, there is this position called the tight end..... my son plays this;  its his favorite position to play.  What little I know, is that the tight end has to block ambushers trying to get to the quarterback or anyone with the ball.  His job is to get a good solid hit and slow down anyone going for the quarterback.  If it looks like the quarterback is going to get into trouble due to lots of guys trying to ambush him, the tight end must not only hit one of these guys, but he must then get into the open so he can catch the ball if the quarterback gets into trouble and has no time to find a receiver.   The tight ends are the carotenoids and flavonoids.  These beauties protect our body (quarterback) from oxidative stress (ambushers)  that can result in diseases such as cataracts, pulmonary disease, and cancer  to name a few.   They get in there and block and hit the oxidative stress, inflammation, and anything that could potentially start out as cancer, type 2 diabetes, etc.

The tight end offense gets  the ALA (Omega 3's) AKA the fatty essential  to the brain where it is needed for  healthy brain function as well as reducing Type 2 Diabetes.  In the words of my 13-year-old son, "YEAH it does!"
The beautiful thing about this game is that these players  (phytonutrients) are not ball hoggers either.  They work as a team and  love to include other players in the mix to bring out even more benefits.

Kale loves lemon.   The acid in the lemon brings out the iron, making  it more available to our cells.

Pair kale with a friend like olive oil or avocado and you have a great fat soluble carotenoid to rush those cancer cells we may not even know are there yet just waiting to metastasize.

Kale and onions rock the field!  While kale is great steamed releasing many of the enzymes to fight hard for our cellular health, Dr Joel Fuhrman recommends chopping raw kale and raw onions together before heating.  He explains (much better than I will here) that  partaking in onions have been proven to reduce colon cancer by 56%, ovarian cancer by 73%, esophageal cancer by 88%,  prostate cancer 71%, and stomach cancer by 50%.  Onions contain enzymes that are heat sensitive and chopping them raw  first releases a powerful chemical reaction to the chopped raw kale chemicals.  When they get together in that "rawmazingness" and are added  to a lycopene rich cooked tomato sauce...... BAM!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

So now that you have rushed out to the store and bought yourself some kale,  what do you do with it?

FEAR NOT!!!!

 Here are a few ways I enjoy it, as well as a few recipes I am about to try myself.

1.  I blend a cup of raw kale (stems removed) in my Ninja with coconut water or coconut milk.  (NO DAIRY PEOPLE)  Then I add all the rest of my smoothie ingredients and blend well.  Once the Cocoa powder is added, the strong kaley taste almost vanishes.

2.  I chop raw kale in my Ninja with an onion and then add it to my red sauce.....shhhhhhh  THE KIDS DON'T KNOW!!!!!

3. I love Kale chips (for the chip enthusiast...its WAY healthier and you get the satisfaction of crunching on something)

4.  I sauté kale with some garlic, olive oil, and a few walnuts!  Yum!

5.  Make a Caesar salad with kale instead of romaine.

Now a Few recipes I can't wait to try:

Quick and Easy Stew with Kale and White Beans

• 2 bunches kale, tough stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's MatoZest or other no salt seasoning blend, adjusted to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
• 3 cups cooked cannellini or other white beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans low sodium or no salt added, drained
• 3 cups diced tomatoes or 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, low sodium or no salt added
• 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium or no salt added, or more if needed to achieve desired consistency

Instructions:

Add kale and water to a soup pot, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until kale is tender, stirring occasionally.
Add onion, garlic, MatoZest, black pepper and red pepper. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 5-7 more minutes.
Add beans, tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve.

Cheesy Kale chips

3/4 C cashews

1 bunch of kale, washed dried

1/2 Roasted red pepper

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 T soy sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 lemon peeled and cut into weeds unseeded

 Cover cashews with water in a small bowl and let the soak for at least one hour before proceeding.   Preheat oven to 300.  Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drain cashews and set aside.  Trim stems from each leaf and cut each leaf into chip size pieces.  Blend cashews, red pepper, garlic soy sauce, yeast and lemon in food processor til smooth.  In a large bowl, combine the kale and cashew past.  Make sure it is coated evenly and place the kale on sheets allowing space between each piece so they don't touch or overlap.  This will take more than one batch so reserve any remaining kale and refrigerate covered until the first batch has finished baking.  Bake kale til crisp and completely dry, checking every 10 min.  Check after the first 10 min and turn leaves over.   Check kale periodically.  Chips will be ready when crunchy and stiff and the topping doesn't feel chewy or moist.

Kale Yeah Slaw

1 Bunch of Kale, stemmed and sliced

1 Large Carrot, shredded

1/2 Orange juiced

1/2 Lemon juiced

1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin

2 TBS olive oil

Toss kale, carrot, juices in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Let it stand a few minutes and bring a saucepan of water to a boil and stir in the onion.  Cook just until the onions are soft.  Drain and immediately immerse in ice water.  Drain the water and blot onions dry with a paper towel.  Add the onion to the kale.  Stir in the olive oil.  Toss.  YUM!!!!!  

So what are you waiting for.....lets go raise some Kale!  Enjoy!  Do you have any yummy kale recipes?