Kale has gained a lot of popularity recently and is readily available at most grocery stores. Have you jumped on the kale bandwagon yet? If not, let’s talk about the varieties, the nutrition benefits and a few tips and recipes to get you started with this powerhouse superfood!
Types of Kale
- Green Curly Kale: This is what type you’ve probably seen the most of. You can find it in nearly any grocery store. Green kale is the most common kale for juicers and my favorite kind. I like to buy organic whole leaves/bunches versus pre-chopped in bags.
- Lacinato Kale: aka “Dinosaur Kale”, this variety is the second most common, distinguishable by it’s dark, long leaves. It’s slightly sweeter and more delicate than curly kale.
- Decorative Kale: Mellow flavor and tender texture is good for coleslaws or salad mixes.
- Russian Kale: The softest of all the kales. This is the best kale to eat raw (without having to massage it) and great for salads. There are red and white varieties.
- Fizz Kale: This kale is more typical for juicers and for salads.
- Red Kale: Perfect for soups and stews.
Easy ways to add KALE to your diet:
- Smoothies (Use 1-2 cups fresh or you can buy and freeze individual servings. My favorite fruits to add so your green smoothie doesn’t taste like raw kale: pear, banana, kiwi and pineapple. I like adding them all with the kale, plus some almond milk and vanilla greek yogurt. Optional: add 1 tbsp of peanut butter or add ½ an avocado to make more creamy!
- Sauté (Add some lemon juice, garlic and olive oil and serve mixed with quinoa and veggies or add to soup or strir-fry mix)
- Salads (Remember, last month we talked about Massaged Kale – link here) –Remember to remove the stem from all types of kale before eating, it’s bitter.)
Storage Tip
If you buy it fresh by the bunch like I do, it will last much longer in your fridge if you chop the stems at the bottom and fill a vase or large Mason jar with fresh water and store it that way. It will look like you have a bouquet of “flowers” in the fridge to greet you each time you open it and reminds you to use it and eat it while it’s fresh.
My favorite recipes:
Sautéed Kale with Garlic (I use curly kale for this and mix with quinoa and roasted veggies at least every 10 days)
Roasted Beet & Kale Salad (This dish was amazing, although I think beets are a little time consuming)
Spicy Parmesan Green Beans & Kale (Even hubby likes this and I cut the recipe in half – very simple and easy dish with lots of flavor and texture)
Kale & Goat Cheese Frittata Cups (LOVE these and so does my toddler!)
SALADS: After massaging the kale with your favorite oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Truffle Oil, Avocado Oil, etc) and sprinkling with my favorite Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals and pepper, there are so many toppings that will create the best salad ever!! Here are a few of my favorites:
-Dried Cherries
-Roasted Butternut Squash
-Avocado
-Boiled Eggs
-Feta Cheese
-Goat Cheese
-Grape Tomatoes
-Sliced Almonds
-Crumbled Bacon
-Edamame
-warmed White Beans
-Grilled Chicken
If you haven’t tried kale before, I hope you’ll do so after reading this article or at least try out one of the recipes and let me know what you think. If you have any favorites of your own, please share! I’ll end with one of my favorite tags on Instagram, #kalelife 😉