Kale: Not Just Rabbit Food

For many people not already aboard the kale train, the leafy green appears to be little more than rabbit food, eaten surely not for taste but for its reported health benefits. However, those of us who’ve adopted kale into our regular diets know better (and no, we haven’t sprouted a fuzzy tail and whiskers).

Yes, kale does have its many health benefits. Beneath its homely, Peter Parker exterior is a Spiderman-esque leafy green ready to bust out to fulfill its destiny as a disease-fighting superfood! Just one cup of kale boasts over six times the recommended daily intake of bone-building vitamin K, over 200 percent of free-radical fighting vitamin A, and nearly 150 percent of the antioxidant vitamin C.

But kale is more than just a nutritional superstar; it also tastes great, when prepared correctly. Try it in a variety of dishes, such as salads, soups, stews, stir-fries, or sautés, or pan-fried alone with a glug of extra-virgin olive oil and some garlic.

Salads
Kale is an excellent replacement for a variety of lettuces found in your average salad. However, to make kale less tough, massage it for a minute as you wash it, and then again with a small drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil once it’s been dried and torn into bite-sized pieces. Replace romaine with kale in your favourite Caesar salad. Or swap out your go-to mixed baby greens for kale.

Soups and stews
Oftentimes soup or stew recipes, such as minestrone or Italian wedding, call for spinach in the ingredients. Wherever spinach is called for, replace it with kale instead, which has over one and a half times the vitamin K and four times the vitamin C. 

Stir-fries and sautés
Kale’s light flavour is what makes this leafy green so versatile. Add it to an Asian-inspired stir-fry with bok choy, napa cabbage, and all your favourite wok classics, or to a Mediterranean-style sauté with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, chicken, and a hint of rosemary.