Crispy King Kale Crisps
When I first discovered kale I have to admit I was not exactly a fan. It seemed tough, dense and hard work to chomp on. However since then my opinion of kale, from a culinary as well as nutritional stand-point, has elevated kale to king in my kitchen!
Why Kale is King for Nutrition
Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, being among one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet when taking into consideration its very low calorie count. It is a cruciferous veggie (others in this group include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and collard greens), and contains high amounts of vitamin A, K and C and minerals manganese, calcium, iron and magnesium. A single cup of raw kale has four times more vitamin C than an orange, and nearly 7 times your recommended daily amount to vitamin K!
But it doesn’t stop here, kale is packed with antioxidants such as quercetin and kaempferol. Antioxidants help protect your cells from damaging free radicals, and have also been shown to have a wide range of health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation and anti-depression, anti-cancer and anti-viral effects. Antioxidants like quercetin and kaempferol are often studied for their many health benefits. You can find these in a pill, but why not eat the whole plant food and get all the other benefits as well?
Kale has also been shown to lower cholesterol - in one study, 32 men with high cholesterol levels were instructed to drink 150ml of kale juice every day for 3 months. Their ‘good’ cholesterol went up 27% and ‘bad’ cholesterol went down 10% (1). Pretty great results without taking medications!
Kale also contains substances that have been shown to be anti-cancer, such as sulforophane and indole-3-carbinol as well as nutrients that protect eye health: lutein and zeaxanthin.
Kale is also low in oxalates, so if you are worried about oxalate rich foods like spinach and swiss chard, kale is an excellent alternative. (See my previous post on ‘oxalates and your health’ to find out more.)
How to Cook Kale
You have to know how to deal with kale! If you are going to chomp on raw kale, you are probably not going to have a great time and what’s worse you could put yourself off ever trying kale again.
Here are some suggestions to get you started with kale:
You can get lots of types of kale. To start off with, try a slightly less fibrous variety such as cavolo nero
Remove the leaves from the fleshy stalks
Steam kale to make it easier to chew - add lemon and olive oil and prepare to be amazed
Add shedded kale to stews, pasta sauces, or blend up in soups - great ways to get kale in without noticing it is there
If you want to eat kale raw, spend time massaging the salad dressing into the kale leaves - this helps soften the leaves ready for eating
Add small amounts to a smoothie - be sure to blend well to fully break it up.
Bake kale to make kale chips! Recipe suggestion below…
Explore different varieties of kale!
Kale Chips Recipe Suggestion:
Step 1: Take a bunch of kale and remove leaves from stems, discard the stems
Step 2: Wash your kale, and pat as dry as you can with clean kitchen towels
Step 3: In a small bowl, mix one tablespoon white miso paste, with one tablespoon apple cider vinegar, a pinch of pepper, a quarter teaspoon turmeric and a half teaspoon smoked paprika.
Step 4: In a large bowel, mix the dressing with your kale leaves, be really through trying to get some of the mix over each leaf.
Step 5: Spread your kale over a baking tray (single layer). Bake in oven at 180 degrees C for about 15-20 minutes - keep a good eye on your kale, you are aiming for crispy, not burnt!
Step 6: Let cool, throw into a bowl if you manage to not already eat off the tray, and enjoy.
So all hail kale, kale is king in my kitchen!
Nourish yourself every day
Fabia x
Reference
Kim SY, Yoon S, Kwon SM, Park KS, Lee-Kim YC. Kale juice improves coronary artery disease risk factors in hypercholesterolemic men. Biomed Environ Sci. 2008 Apr;21(2):91-7.
