{"id":266,"date":"2013-05-30T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T22:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adamjacksonphoto.com\/life_and_health\/?p=316"},"modified":"2021-11-10T14:47:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T22:47:45","slug":"weekly-roundup-kale-the-queen-of-greens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/food\/weekly-roundup-kale-the-queen-of-greens\/15266.html","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Roundup: Kale, The Queen of Greens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I know, kale is a long overdue topic.\u00a0 There have been entire weekly roundups dedicated to <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/2013\/03\/22\/weekly-roundup-lets-talk-tofu\">tofu<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/2013\/01\/11\/weekly-roundup-quinoa-celebration\">quinoa<\/a>, and even greenish-brown <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/2013\/03\/01\/weekly-roundup-a-lesson-in-juicing\">juices<\/a>, but we\u2019ve completely overlooked kale, aka \u201cthe queen of greens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It may be because kale seems to be a love-it or hate-it kind of a green, and we\u2019ve needed some time to fall in love.\u00a0 For a lot of people, and especially in the virtual world of food bloggers, the dark green leaves have generated an almost obsessive following.\u00a0 I\u2019m not quite there yet, but I do understand the hype.<\/p>\n<p>Five words: <strong>Kale. Is. A. Nutritional. Powerhouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>The benefits of kale, with the help of <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.aarp.org\/2013\/03\/25\/hail-kale-why-you-should-or-shouldnt-eat-it\/\">AARP<\/a>:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>For your eyes:<\/strong> Kale is high in lutein and zeaxanthin, phytochemicals found in the retina, which could reduce the risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older people.<\/li>\n<li><strong>For your immune system:<\/strong> Kale is rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A), a powerful antioxidant that may help boost the immune system and possibly protect against some chronic diseases and cancer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>For your bones:<\/strong> Kale is one of the few vegetables with a decent amount of calcium, but it\u2019s especially high in magnesium\u2014just 1 cup contains 40% of the RDA\u2014which is very important for bone health and to protect against osteoporosis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>For your heart: <\/strong>Foods like kale that are naturally high in antioxidants are heart-healthy, according to the Cleveland Clinic.\u00a0 Not only that, kale\u2019s magnesium and potassium help lower blood pressure and its high fiber content can help lower cholesterol\u2014all beneficial factors in lowering your risk of cardiovascular illness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The very simple point being: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">eat more kale.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>To Prepare Kale:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a knife to cut out the tough center rib and chop the leaves into ribbons or bite-sized pieces.<\/li>\n<li>That center rib is edible, though fairly fibrous, and you can treat it like celery and chop it into its to cook with a soup or a sauce.<\/li>\n<li>The leaves can be eaten raw, saut\u00e9ed until wilted, simmered into a soup, or even roasted until crisp.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>5 ways to eat kale, by yours truly:<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ci-image ci-147x107\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/images\/img_11911-600x400__147x107.jpg?fid=3&amp;d=316\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>1. <strong>Raw, in a salad:<\/strong> Kale doesn\u2019t need to be cooked to be enjoyed.\u00a0 If you slice it into very fine ribbons, it makes a great salad!\u00a0 It\u2019s rough texture and slightly bitter taste are the perfect match for a tangy lemon and sweet mango, as in our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/qr\/VqYVXsavmo\">Avocado-Mango Kale Salad<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ci-image ci-147x107\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/images\/4w1a9438__470x325__147x107.jpg?fid=3&amp;d=316\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>2. <strong>Cooked:<\/strong> Kale is a notoriously tough reen, and while it can be great in raw salads, sometimes it\u2019s better served softly saut\u00e9ed with olive oil and soy sauce, then served on top of rice, like the <a title=\"Asian Shiitake, Kale, and Rice Bowl\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/kitchen\/asian-shiitake-kale-and-rice-bowl\/\"><strong>Asian Shiitake, Kale &amp; Rice Bowl<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ci-image ci-147x107\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/images\/soup-rice-tomato_25__147x107.jpg?fid=3&amp;d=316\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>3.<strong> In a soup:<\/strong> Kale\u2019s study texture makes it the perfect green to throw into a pot of soup.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t fall apart into moist strings like spinach.\u00a0 Rather, it can stand alongside other hearty, flavorful ingredients like the brown rice and chili powder in our <a title=\"Rustic Tomato, Rice &amp; Kale Stew\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/kitchen\/rustic-tomato-rice-kale-stew\/\"><strong>Rustic Tomato, Rice &amp; Kale Stew<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ci-image ci-147x107\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/images\/img_5034__147x107.jpg?fid=3&amp;d=316\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>4.<strong> In pasta: <\/strong>Just like in soups, kale doesn\u2019t wilt too much or lose its toothsome texture when cooked with pasta.\u00a0 Even though it might sound strange at first to let the greens be the star of a pasta dish, this simple <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/qr\/7BF09CgDIu\"><strong>Pasta with Kale and Garlic<\/strong><\/a> will make it clear why we like it that way.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ci-image ci-147x107\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/images\/b4de364c7003fd93_cheesy-kale-chips.preview__470x325__147x107.jpg?fid=3&amp;d=316\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0<strong>As snack chips: <\/strong>You\u2019ve probably heard about kale chips\u2014they\u2019ve become a legendary vegan foodie staple, perhaps because of how much healthier they are than regular potato chips. You can either go the simple route and toss kale with olive oil and salt, then bake them.\u00a0 Or you could go our <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/qr\/7Df82JWNA7\"><strong>Cheesy Kale Chip<\/strong><\/a> way (we strongly recommend the latter).<\/p>\n<h3>Other kale chip fans from around the web:<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.edibleperspective.com\/home\/2013\/5\/23\/chopped-kale-salad-creamy-almond-ginger-dressing.html\"><strong>Chopped Kale Salad + Creamy Almond Ginger Dressing<\/strong><\/a> via <em>Edible Perspective<\/em>: \u201cKale salads are awesome.\u00a0 Especially when all of the veggies are finely chopped, covered in a creamy almond dressing infused with ginger, and topped with marinated portabella mushrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.acouplecooks.com\/2013\/02\/kale-pesto-bean-dip\/\"><strong>Kale Pesto Bean Dip<\/strong><\/a> via <em>A Couple Cooks<\/em>: \u201cThe recipe turned out just as we expected \u2013 bursting with flavor, and a wonderful way to introduce veggies into a table of party food. You could try it out for an appetizer before the meal \u2013perhaps to tide over your hunger during that critical cooking period?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theppk.com\/2013\/02\/curry-tofu-tacos-with-pintos-kale-slaw\/\"><strong>Curry Tofu Tacos with Pintos &amp; Kale Slaw<\/strong><\/a> via <em>The Post Punk Kitchen<\/em>: \u201cAnd the Kale Slaw is my favorite hippy vegan recipe, and really not much more difficult than making guacamole. It\u2019s sliced into shreds, and doused in a creamy garlicky dressing of avocado, tahini, and red wine vinegar. So easy! Even though there are a few components, the entire recipe should only take 30 minutes or so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thekitchn.com\/recipe-spiced-lentil-sweet-potato-and-kale-whole-wheat-pockets-181100\"><strong>Spiced Lentil, Sweet Potato, and Kale Whole-Wheat Pockets<\/strong><\/a> via <em>The Kitchen<\/em>: \u201cStuffed with spiced lentils, kale and mashed roasted sweet potato, these sturdy vegan pastries freeze well and taste great hot or at room temperature, so whether you&#8217;re sitting in your cubicle or cruising at 30,000 feet, you can have a wholesome meal ready whenever you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefirstmess.com\/2013\/04\/10\/chickpea-spring-onion-kale-panzanella-salad-recipe\/\"><strong>Chickpea, Spring Onion + Tuscan Kale Salad<\/strong><\/a> via <em>The First Mess<\/em>: \u201cAs humbly and deliciously as I can offer, I made you a salad primarily composed from chickpeas and stale bread this week. The vegetable component is 3 distinct alliums (just onions y\u2019all). The grassy chives, the pungent red bulb onion and sweet charred leeks. These flavours epitomize early spring for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kale&#8217;s nutritional powerhouse has generated an almost obsessive following.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[555],"thb-sponsors":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-seasonal","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"views":1623,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3259,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/3259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}