18 Healthy Kale Recipes to Assure You Will Love Kale

I love kale. It is  such a nutritious powerhouse.   And growing it couldn’t be easier except the moths think it is divine as well. Since I let my kale go to seed, I have an abundance of it in the garden and tried to sell it along with my other vegetable overages. No one wanted the kale since they had no idea how to cook it. I was shocked. I thought everyone loved kale.  So, if you are looking for ways to cook kale, here are a bunch of healthy kale recipes to get you started.  (No pun intended.)

Nutritional Aspect of Kale

Kale is so amazing.  According to Webmd, kale is chock full of nutrition.  It contains:

• Vitamins A, C, and K.
• 2.5 grams of fiber so it helps to manage blood sugar.
•  Folate which helps with brain development.
• Minerals: phosphorus, potassium, calcium, copper, manganese, and zinc.
• Lutein and zeaxanthin which protect against macular degeneration and cataracts
• Alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid.
• 3- carbinol, which is a nutrient that “seems to play a role in how estrogen is metabolized in the body,” according to Deirdre Orceyre, a naturopathic physician at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the George Washington University Medical Center.

Kale contains the following other benefits:

• It contains only 33 calories and 2 grams of protein per cup.
•  Rated 3 on the glycemic load index.
• Revs up your body’s natural detoxification ability.

Healthy Kale Recipes

I can understand why people may not like Kale.  It  can be very bitter.  So here are some recipes that can help you enjoy the taste of kale and benefit from what it offers.

• Kale & Bok Choy Slaw with Spicy Sesame-Ginger Dressing–Small Footprint Family
• Roasted Kale Leaves with Broccoli or Cauliflower–Green Talk. (The recipe uses cauliflower leaves but you can use kale instead.)  This is my family’s go-to-recipe since it is so easy to make and oh so delicious.
• Kale Smoothie –Green Talk
• Kale and Bacon Quiches with Hash Brown Crust –A Calculated Whisk
• Sweet Potato & Crispy Kale Breakfast Skillet–A Calculated Whisk (See picture above.)
• Spicy Shrimp and Kale with Creamy Rutabaga–A Calculated Whisk
• Summer Kale Salad–Strength and Sunshine
• Super Booster Kale Chips–It Takes Time
• Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Kale, and Lemon–Gutsy By Nature
• Simple Tips For Light & Crispy Kale Chips Every Time!–Raising Generation Nourished
• Vegan Kale Caesar Salad With Crispy Chickpeas–There is a Cook in My Kitchen
• Baked Eggs With Sausage And Kale–There is a Cook in My Kitchen
• Avocado, Kale, And Hearts Of Palm Dip–There’s a Cook in my Kitchen
• Pasta with Kale and Mushrooms–Mama Likes to Cook
• Anti-Inflammatory Kale Salad–Life Currents
• Paleo Blueberry Kale Smoothie–A Girl Worth Saving
• Fattoush Dip with Kale Hummus–Farm Fresh Feasts

When  you have an overabundance of kale or it is starting to go bad, consider making your own super nutritious green powder to sprinkle in your dishes. I use all of my greens to make this powder including beet, Swiss Chard, collards, Brussels sprouts, kale, and radish leaves.  It can be made in the dehydrator or an oven propped open at 135 degrees.  (Use those left over chop sticks to prop open the door.)

• Dehydrated Kale Powder

Using the powder is a great way to hide it in your foods.  Next time sprinkle some in your meatballs, soups, and other dishes.

But wait, I have more!

Did you know October 7 is National Kale Day?  Find out more HERE and some more recipes to boot.

Growing Kale in the Garden

If you want to grow Kale in the garden I highly recommend Russian Kale or White Russian Kale.  These two kale plants are not bitter and can be thrown in salads.

*Warning*  Do not let your kale plants go to seed. (For that matter, don’t let your collard greens go to seed.)  In my zone 6, my kale and collard greens go to seed in their second year of life.  Yes, they come back.

Trust me on the seeding issue.  You will find kale plant a hundred feet away.  I call it the gift that keeps on giving.  Thousands of baby kale plants all over your garden.

Just Don’t Overdo Eating Kale

For awhile I was drinking a kale smoothie every day.  Sorry for too much information, but I was so much more gassy than usual.  Dr Orceyre warns:

“[r]aw kale in particular “can be hard on the digestive system” — meaning it can cause bloating, gas and other abdominal issues — “and also contains a compound that can suppress thyroid function in certain people,” she adds. That’s why she doesn’t recommend eating the vegetable uncooked or juicing it more than once or twice a week, though she says you can eat as much of the cooked veggie as you like.”

In addition, she further states eating kale in large quantities can cause problems with people who are on blood thinners and other medications since kale’s large concentration of vitamin K  promotes clotting.  Greens also contain oxalates which can be associated with kidney stones and some gallstones.

Everything in moderation is the key.

Join the Conversation:

How do you like to use kale in your recipes?

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