If you want to eat local foods in the winter then you better figure out how to eat some big leafy greens like kale. Not to mention kale is packed with all sorts of good stuff for your body so if you can learn to enjoy this veggie then it’s a win-win for everyone. :) Also just like apples, wheat and other whole foods there are many different varieties - and therefore flavors - of kale available. We recently picked up some “dinosaur kale” at our farmers’ market because with a name like that who wouldn’t want to at least try it?
It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally figured out a few ways that our family can easily “eat more kale”….
- Eggs.
Puree kale into an egg dish like scrambled eggs, mini egg casseroles, quiche or egg soufflé. You could also use sautéed kale instead of a layer of meat on your Eggs Benedict this weekend. My husband says he might even like eggs better with kale than without. I am not sure I exactly agree with him on that, but the kale/egg combo is surprisingly good.
Green Eggs Recipe
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- Salads.
I actually need to thank some of my blog readers for telling me that you could just eat kale raw in a salad. For a while I had the impression that kale had to be cooked. I will say though if you’re somewhat new to kale it could be overkill to just sit down to a big bowl of it so we started out by just mixing in a little bit of kale with our regular salad greens. The first night we tried this my husband declared, “The kids are NOT going to like this” but I said, “Just don’t say anything and see what happens.” Sure enough they ate it without even noticing the new, darker greens in the mix. (FYI - My kids did not always eat salad...it took a lot of repeated exposure before our 4-year-old learned it would be a "dinner norm" around here.) And I am also not a huge salad person myself so adding just a little bit to our standard lettuce was a good compromise for everyone.
Hint: Remove the center ribs from the kale before eating it raw.
Salad Recipes
- Pesto.
I don’t know about you, but our family LOVES some pesto. It’s great on everything from pasta to pizza to caprese salad to panini sandwiches. I’ve discovered that if you replace half the basil with kale in your pesto recipe that you can hardly even tell the difference!
Pesto Recipe
Pizza Recipe
- Smoothies.
I’ve been adding a handful of spinach to our smoothies for a while, which doesn’t necessarily turn our smoothies “green” but instead just adds a veggie without altering the flavor very much. So I finally took the plunge and added a handful of kale instead, and I have to say…not bad. Now I actually kind of like raw spinach so I can’t say I like our smoothies with the kale just as much, but almost as much.
Smoothie Recipe
- Kale Chips.
Most of you have probably heard of these by now, but if you haven’t you are missing out. If you can manage to cook them just right this is another tasty way to “enjoy” kale!
Kale Chips Recipe
Please share how you like to eat Kale (and what varieties you prefer) in the comments below!
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