Pop Quiz: What leafy cruciferous vegetable can be found in every anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol lowering and detox diet known to humanity? (Check the image above for a little clue)
A friend of mine likes to share the mantra: Hydrate or die. I would like to pass along the following bit of sage advice: Eat kale, and eat it often.
This lovely leaf offers so many health benefits. It boosts your bone strength and protects your brain with a high dose of Vitamin K (and is great for those trying to rebuild bone after a break or surgery… unless you are on anti-coagulant medication like warfarin. Ask your doctor about this, if it pertains to you). Phytochemicals, carotenoids and a high dose of Vitamin A all help prevent cancer throughout the body as well as protect against degenerative diseases. If you are concerned about cholesterol, osteoporosis, brain health, vitamin deficiencies… the list goes on and on… then this is the food you need to become familiar with.
Afraid the tiny tots aren’t going to go for it? Green smoothies (my boys fondly refer to them as “snot smoothies”) and kale chips are the highest scoring kid-friendly kale recipes in our home. Other ways to work it into any meal of the day include: kale pesto, soups, as a pizza topping, added to stir fry, pasta, or rice dishes, or run through the food processor and added to your meatball or meatloaf mixture.
Truth be told, I find the bunches sold in the supermarket are just too puny, so you can bet that I always toss a few bunches into the cart with every grocery store visit.
With two of those bunches I immediately soak and clean them, and pull the leaves from the stalks. Then I lay a clean dish towel out on the counter and pat the leaves dry. Dry leaves go into a large bowl and get a healthy drizzle of olive oil and a tiny sprinkling of sea salt and whatever else I’m in the mood for… most days, because the tiny tots are waiting for their share, I simply add a bit of garlic powder. For a more exotic flair I will add cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes or white pepper. Whatever my dry seasoning ingredients are, I toss it all in the large bowl and then lay out the leaves in a single layer on two baking sheets and slide them into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. When they are just barely crisped, I pull them out of the oven to cool completely in a single layer on a serving platter before piling them into a bowl (if they even last that long – they’re usually plucked straight from the pan while still warm, for immediate consumption). It’s important to let them cool completely so they don’t become limp and soggy when they’re piled together in a serving bowl or storage container.
And before you see what these glorious kale chips look like, I must forewarn you:
Fresh kale is truly lovely – a vibrant green, sometimes a curly leaf, perhaps a streak of deep purple…
But kale chips are nothing to look at. They actually look like a mistake. Please, don’t let their drab appearance discourage you!
More kale recipes to come… For now, try your hand at kale chips – and please post your variations for seasonings in the comments section. I’m looking forward to hearing what you experiment with!
