When it comes to kale, I think there are three types of people… those who love it, those who hate it and those who just haven’t had enough experience with it to know how delicious it is!
It is one of the easiest vegetables to grow as it doesn’t need much love, and when you pick from the bottom leaves, it just continues to grow up through the center. You really only need to transplant 4 or 5 seedlings in the spring and you will have constant supply of almost free kale growing all season and into the winter.
My girls found this shirt for me- they thought it summed me up pretty well. 😉
Kale can be prepared so many ways. Steamed, massaged, added to a stir-fry, chopped fresh into salads, dehydrated to make chips or baked into casseroles or lasagnas. You may have to play with it to see which way you enjoy it the most, but any way you slice it, your body is far better off eating it than not! So, even if you are a bit scared of it, start with small amounts and work your way up. Another nice way to try it is to slice it very finely and add some to your caesar salad (with a killer plant based dressing of course)… easily found in a google search.
Dr. Greger, my hero, shows in this video that even kale “cooked to death” boosts the immune system substantially and helps the body build antibodies.
Kale, along with other vegetables such as; collard greens, beets, okra, mustard greens, swiss chard, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, are very good at removing carcinogenic bile acids from the body. The top three bile binding veggies are; beets, okra and kale, in that descending order. Studies show that kale actually does this better when it is steamed! Watch more in this video about the importance of eating your veggies as a way to strengthen your immune system and detoxify your body. 😉
I thought I would share this kale salad recipe that we have been enjoying lately. It is a combination of a couple of recipes I use. It has a fun twist with pesto as the dressing. If you are not a pesto fan, just substitute with a simple balsamic, or store bought dressing that contains no animal products. This is great to get massaged and mostly prepped the day before for a barbecue… Just wait to stir all of the ingredients together until before you go. 
Ingredients
- Salad:4 cups of shredded dinosaur kale2 cups finely diced cabbage - green or purple (optional)1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil3/4 cup pesto (either cheese free store-bought, or using the recipe below)3/4 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved1/2 cup diced pepper (any colour)1/4 cup diced onion, red or yellow2 tablespoons nutritional yeast1 tablespoon hemp seeds1/4 cup of pine nuts or cashews for toppingPesto Sauce:2 cups basil, loosely packed1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds2 garlic cloves3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast1/4 cup olive oil, more to make it less thick1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Slice kale and cabbage by hand or in a food processor.
- In a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil over the kale. Massage the leaves with your hands for about 5 minutes. I know it sounds goofy, but this process helps the kale to break down and become less bitter. It turns its texture into a beautiful dark green silky one.
- Add pesto sauce, either homemade or store-bought, and stir in well. You may have to use your hands to fully spread the pesto.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Top with nuts if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
I highly suggest making the pesto yourself as it is very simple and much less expensive, especially if you have a basil plant in your garden. From the recipe I had enough to use half on the salad and the other half the next night stirred into some linguine. Just whip it up in a Vitamix, blender or food processor.
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