Kale

KALE

I discovered Kale only recently when cooking in a restaurant, finishing up my culinary degree.  It's deep green leafy qualities intrigued me to learn more about it.  Kale is a bit bitter, but has a ton of health benefits and when prepared correctly is delicious.  It's extremely high in fiber and iron.  Some say it has more iron than beef per calorie!  A great quality for a vegetarian diet.  Kale, also high in vitamins, is high in vitamin K, C and E.  These vitamins help with bone and skin health and helps your metabolism to work effectively and efficiently.  Kale is an excellent detox food, containing a lot of sulfur which aids in liver health.  If you think you don't like kale, I urge you to give these recipes a try, you might just change your mind!

Kale Chips

1/4 bag chopped kale
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Place the Kale on a sheet tray or cookie sheet
- Drizzle with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes
- Toss with your hands until seasonings are evenly distributed
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crunchy

Sauteed Kale with Mushrooms, Peppers and Shrimp

1/2 bag chopped kale
1/4 white onion medium dice
1 clove garlic minced
1 package shitake mushrooms sliced
1/2 red bell pepper medium dice
1/2 lb fresh or frozen shrimp
2 tbs toasted pine nuts
1 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

- In a medium saute pan over medium heat sweat onions and garlic until translucent in olive oil
- Add bell peppers and mushrooms cook another 3 minutes
- Add kale and shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink

Kale Protein Smoothie

1 serving vanilla or chocolate whey protein powder
2 cups kale
1/2 frozen banana
1 pint frozen blueberries
1 pint frozen raspberries
1 tbs flax seeds
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup vanilla greek yogurt

- In a blender combine protein powder, kale, frozen fruit, flax seeds, yogurt and almond milk in a blender, blend until desired consistency is reached.