If you can identify this picture, you are already one step ahead of me! All I wanted to do for February was desserts or Risotto's but with this new diet I went with a fan suggestion: KALE.
Throughout time, I have always heard, “eat your greens!” And I don’t think they meant the romaine lettuce smothered in cheese, Caesar dressing, and topped with crusty white bread. But how do you incorporate more greens into your everyday meals that are edible for myself and my children?!
Well I don’t have a magic answer. I still don’t know the difference between most leafy greens but I am hoping to learn something about them this month. For instance here is a type of Kale called, “Lacinato”. It’s leaves are flat.
Missy found a great article titled, “7 Reasons Kale is the New Beef!”. Check it out to learn more facts about kale: click on kale or go to http://www.organicauthority.com/health/reasons-kale-is-the-new-beef-nutritious-sustainable.html
Seems like you can’t go wrong with all that calcium, iron, fiber, Omega fatty acids, antioxidants, and it even acts as an anti-inflammatory-all in one food!
I hope my beauties will help me in answering how to get more of this super food into my diet. I’ll kick us off with a funky recipe and then hope to do one more in a main dish later in the month.
Kale Butter(taken from “The Engine 2 Diet” by Rip Esselstyn)
1 bunch of kale, rinsed and chopped
½ cup walnuts
½ cup water
Salt to taste
Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender. Blend the cooked kale with the walknuts and ½ cup of the green water from steaming. Add salt to taste if desired. Process in a blender until smooth.
It reminded me of pesto. You could use it as a spread on a cracker, but that didn’t fly with the kids. But I did manage to get rave reviews putting it on their “meat” sandwich with some mayo & mustard! I bet you could even do a kb&j (kale butter & jelly). I am hoping to sneak it into a wrap for myself. Any other ideas?
Great pictures, Jolie, and I'm so excited kale is the secret ingredient! Thanks for the suggestion Jenny D.! It will be so much fun to see all the recipes that come out of this. I'm so impressed with your kale "butter" - sounds like it could be the perfect spread for sandwiches and wraps and it looks so pretty with your crackers.
ReplyDeleteAnd on a happy note, all this kale eating should balance out all the chocolate hearts I plan to consume this month! xoxo
I think I spent about 2 hours researching Kale recipes yesteday. I kept graviating towards the fattening ones. Oops. Well, whatever I decide to do I'm glad you chose Kale because it really is a super food and it always ALWAYS finds its way into my CSA box.
ReplyDeleteIs that only 4 ingredients I see in that recipe? Love that! I'm gonna have to try that one. Maybe add some pesto in it? Really excited about kale this month, great pick Jolie!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom gave me a great kale recipe many years ago. Wash and chop kale. In a pan heat some oil or butter, add garlic and sautee. Add kale and a can of diced tomatoes (I'm sure you could use fresh as well). Saute until kale is tender. Stir in cooked brown rice. Warm throughout and serve. It's actually very delicious!
ReplyDeleteJolie, the magic answer is a Vitamix! I eat at least three to four cups of packed organic baby spinach every morning in my breakfast smoothie. I have a lot of kale in my garden right now, too, and like it blended with apples and a little bit of orange juice. Your "butter" looks delish!
ReplyDeleteLove Kale! I add to my morning smoothie too! Love my vitamix. I add kale to most soups but especially love it in my Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe from Olive Garden. Dinosaur kale makes amazing Kale chips the crunch is indescribable if you get it right. More like Shatter! Yum. Can't wait to see the recipes this month.
ReplyDeleteSorry Jolie - can't do this one! I think I prefer it just steamed with a bit of pepper.
ReplyDelete