5 Ways to Eat More Kale
I love kale…everyone knows this about me, right? For years I drove around with an “Eat More Kale” bumper sticker on my car, I own a “Drink More Kale” shirt (I even put an “Eat More Kale” onesie on my baby registry because how could I not?), and now that I have a garden, I love growing my own kale (it’s so easy!) and I’m about to buy a chest freezer for the basement so I can freeze my kale bounty to last through the winter.
My love for this leafy green has outlasted the kale craze of the early 2010s when it was the “it” health food that everyone was talking about it and I’m still a super fan of this superfood—in fact, I consume it in one way or another almost every day.
A Few Fun Facts About Kale
National Kale Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of October—which is today, woohoo! Happy National Kale Day!
Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth. It’s loaded with antioxidants and is a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and fiber. Kale has more calcium than milk and more vitamin C than an orange!
Some studies suggest that kale may be helpful in preventing cancer and lowering cholesterol.
Kale is a cool-weather crop and can tolerate temperatures as low as 10°F so you can grow it pretty late into the season. Frost actually makes it taste sweeter and less bitter.
During World War II, the cultivation of kale was encouraged because it was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to supplement those missing from a normal diet due to rationing.
Kale yeah!
When people find out what a huge kale fan I am, I usually get asked the same question: “But what do you do with it?” so I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes and ways to sneak kale into your diet.
5 Ways to Eat More Kale
Green Juice or Smoothie: This is the recipe for my staple green juice that I make multiple times a week. You can drop a handful of kale into pretty much any fruit smoothie too and I promise you won’t even notice it’s in there.
Kale Caesar Salad: This is my new favorite way to use kale. This recipe from Kitchn is great and this one from Half-Baked Harvest was recommended by a friend and is next on my list to try.
Kale Pesto: I love traditional basil pesto, but kale pesto is great too. Here’s a simple recipe from Love and Lemons, and while you can use all sorts of nuts, I personally think pine nuts make the best pesto.
Kale & White Bean Soup: One of my favorite soups to make when the weather gets chilly, this recipe for Kale & White Bean Soup from Real Simple has minimal ingredients and comes together in about half an hour.
Put Kale In Everything! Making pasta? Toss some kale in with the sauce. Scrambling eggs? Sauté some kale in and make it a veggie scramble. You can add kale to pretty much any stir-fry or soup too, it cooks down a ton and is such an easy way to sneak greens into so many different meals. I like to have a bag of finely chopped kale in the fridge at all times (either store-bought or from my garden) so all I have to do is grab a handful to toss into whatever I’m making.
She is a thing of beauty! Glamour shot of one of my curly kale plants
