I can not help but smile at the recent kale-craziness that has been going on for a while now because I was introduced to this important vegetable years ago. I am glad people are incorporating it into their diets now because it is so good for you.
How to Eat Kale
The photo above is of a vegan soup I made that will be coming to my blog soon
I know a lot of people add raw kale to their smoothies which I personally am not a fan of. I do not like how it impacts the texture of the smoothie and to be honest, you get a lot more of kale’s healing properties by cooking it rather than having it raw. As a result, I like finely chopping it and adding it to soups. You can use it in foods as a spinach substitute if you prefer and hide it in all sorts of things like meatballs, lasagna… Let your foodie imagination go wild!
Preparing Kale
The number one issue with kale is to make sure it is CLEAN! It is so easy to leave dirt by accident in between those curly leaves. I like to fill the largest bowl I have with water and some vinegar.
I push down on the kale and swish it from left to right, like a washing machine.
I pull it all out, dump the water, rinse the kale under the faucet and repeat washing process at least three times.
Now What?
I paid $4 for one bunch of kale at my store. I only needed 2 cups of finely chopped kale for my soup and I refuse to let food go to waste. I was determined to use everything.
I removed the stems from the leaves and set them aside. I finely chopped the two cups of kale and then did a rough chop of the stems.
I got two small bags for the stems to use in future broths. I had a ton of kale left over so I divided it up into little baggies for future soup-making. I stretched that $4 as far as I could and now I have this mega cancer-fighter super food in my freezer, ready to be used.
My favourite use for kale is for my Super Immunity Soup. There are a ton of health benefits to kale and even if you do not like how it tastes, once it is finely chopped and added to a soup it just kind of blends in. As long as you clean it well, it really is an easy vegetable to work with. Do not be intimidated by kale! Super foods are for everyone.
I have a raw food diet friend who dehydrates kale to make kale chips. Crunchy but will never replace potato chips in my own personal junk food repetoire.
That’s probably better than roasting them which is why I did and I hated the kale chips! So many people love them, maybe they’re using dehydrators too? I agree, if you’re going to have junk food, go for it. Or have Crispy Minis. I have a thing for them too.
I too have eaten kale for years. My DIL massages it with olive oil and a little salt and gives it to the kids and they just love it. Rub it hard enough that the fibres break down. It’s quite delicious!
Amelia, I heard via Twitter that massaging kale is key too which I did not know, thank you for that! 🙂