This post comes from the lovely Erin, over at Well in LA. When Erin offered to write a guest post for me {on kale no less} how could I say no? She’s a fellow food blogger, health coach, and wellness aficionado.
One minute spent talking to Erin, and you want to live her mantra: Be Well.
Kale is way more than a decorative base for other food. In fact, it’s usually the most nutrient dense food on the plate – on the planet. Rescue the kale from the local buffet table and show it a little love.
Kale has ruffled leaves and a fibrous stalk and dark, deep green color. It has a “lively pungent flavor with delicious bitter peppery qualities”. I’ve expressed my love of Kale in many ways on my site. It’s most frequently found in my green juices and always in my bag at the farmer’s market.
Kale is neither cabbage nor lettuce, but its own proudly standing group of greens. It comes in several varieties, but these are the more commonly found types:
- Curly leaved Kale
- Flat, Plain Kale {leaves}
- Leaf and spear {a cross between curly leaved and plain leaved Kale Lutes}
- Cavolo Nero a.k.a. Dinosaur Kale
Kale is best eaten early in the day, and you can try the salad in this post as part of you mid-day meal, or try it for breakfast {keep reading!}. Kale has phytochemicals that ward off evil cancer cells, it fills you up and provides energy to sustain you throughout the day. Maybe it should wear a cape with all of its superhero traits… or maybe that’s a bit overboard!
Marinated Kale & Pomegranate Seed Salad
Serves 4-6
Prep & chop the night before you want to eat this dish to allow the lemon do its marinating magic with the kale.
- 5-6 cups kale, washed and cut into thin strips
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds {in season!}
- 1 tablespoon honey
- zest and juice of one lemon {also in season!}
- 1/4 cup olive oil or hemp seed oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Optional
- 1/2 cup nuts or seeds {pumpkin are great and in season – toast before adding}
- 1/3 cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese {omit to keep it dairy-free; add 1/4 tsp salt in its place}
Mix kale, fruit, lemon zest and seeds in your serving bowl. Mix lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, and honey in a separate bowl. Pour dressing over kale and toss evenly coat each piece. Refrigerate six hours at minimum or overnight if you can. Layer & toss with Parmesan and nuts in the salad before serving.
Kale for breakfast? Absolutely!
Tropical Kale Smoothie:
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 banana, chopped into pieces & frozen
- 1/2 cup of diced mango, frozen
- 1/2 bunch of kale, or two big handfuls if chopped
- 1 tsp ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup coconut water
- 1 TBSP of coconut oil
Directions:
Add frozen foods, layer in the liquids, then the powders and finally the fresh foods {the kale}. Blend away until the smoothie is green – it tastes like a tropical paradise, I promise!
Erin Haslag, wellness coach and website/social media consultant, can be found at WELL in L.A. where she writes too often about kale, posts pretty pictures and ways to integrate wellness into your everyday life. Follow along on Twitter @WELLinLA.
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