Twelve Whole-Food Plant-Based Kale Recipes You Should Try This Week (2024)

FAQs

How do you sneak kale into your diet? ›

Mix with sweets: combining kale with naturally sweet-tasting foods such as fruits, or sweet-tasting spices can help mask some of its bitterness. Add a touch of salt or spices: spicy and salty flavors can also tame some of kale's strong bitterness. Try cooking kale in vegetable broth with a touch of chili flakes.

You can freeze it and add it to soups, stews, sauces, pastas. I buy greens when they're on sale or reduced to sell and freeze them for this purpose. I throw mine right into the freezer & it stays green. I use kale pesto on pasta, pizza (instead of tomato sauce), frittatas, it's extremely versatile!

The trick is to keep serving them small amounts of salad, and of course to make it tastier with the right (homemade) dressing. If they like salad you can add some kale to it for extra nutrients (small pieces work best and it's better to massage them first with olive oil to make them softer). Make kale pesto.

12 months old +: Serve cooked or raw kale that has been chopped or shredded. Serve the greens on their own or as part of a meal. At this age, many toddlers will be ready to try raw kale salads.

Being a good source of calcium and Vitamin K, kale may help in boosting bone health. Consumption of kale may help in detoxifying the body. It may help in managing malnutrition problems. Being a good source of iron and Vitamin C, it may help in boosting immunity.

Plus, eating too much fiber (like what you find in kale) could wreck havoc on your GI system, causing bloating, diarrhea, gas, constipation, and even improper absorption of nutrients. Of course, you'd have to be eating a lot of kale to suffer these effects, says Manganiello, but it's still something to keep in mind.

Cook kale instead of eating it raw

Sautéing, steaming, or even baking kale can make it easier to consume. “It helps reduce the volume before you eat it, making it a bit easier on your stomach to break down,” says Tyffanie Ammeter, MS, RDN, CDN.

Kale is also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that reduce your risk of macular degeneration and other age-related eye diseases. Kale offers an abundance of nutrients that support heart health, including potassium, fiber, folate, and calcium.

People who may need to avoid or limit kale intake are those who form oxalate-containing kidney stones or take the blood thinners Coumadin or warfarin. Be sure to check with your health care professional or dietitian if you have questions.

Can you freeze kale? ›

Kale can be frozen without blanching but should be used within 4 weeks. Blanching greens before freezing stops the naturally-occurring ripening enzymes in the leaves. This will ensure that the leaves taste fresh and will not develop a bitter taste. Blanched kale will last up to 1 year in the freezer.

Signs of Over-maturity:

If leaves start to look overly tough or if the plant begins to bolt (produce flowers), it's a signal that the kale is past its prime for harvesting. While these leaves can still be eaten, they might have a tougher texture and a more bitter flavor.

Because of the low calorie and high water content, kale has a low energy density. Eating plenty of foods with a low energy density has been shown to aid weight loss in numerous studies ( 30 , 31 ). Kale also contains a small amount of fiber, which is an important nutrient that has been linked to weight loss ( 32 ).

As for the healthiest method for cooking kale, the research is mixed. “Cancer studies seem to show that raw kale is more beneficial than cooked, while cholesterol studies seem to show that steamed kale is more beneficial than raw,” says Harris, who recommends a bit of both in your diet.

“You can get plenty of nutrients in just 1-2 cups of raw kale,” Giles says. “There's not really a limit. However, it's best to get a variety of veggies throughout the day.” If you're on blood thinners or anticoagulant medication, you can still enjoy kale, but do it in a consistent manner.