We all know that kale is a powerhouse vegetable, but many of us either don’t like the texture or the flavor. So on my latest segment on Living Healthy Chicago, I discussed the benefits of kale and all the sneaky ways that you can add it to your diet (without it tasting like grass).
There are a few different types of kale, the most common being curly kale. My personal favorite is lacinto kale or dinosaur kale because the texture isn’t as tough as curly kale and the flavor isn’t as bitter. But before we get into how to incorporate these different types of kale into your day let’s discuss the nutritional profile of this leafy green.
A Few Of The Health Benefits Of Kale:
- High in Vitamin C & K: Kale is particularly high in these two vitamins that play very important roles for our wellbeing. Vitamin C is not only great to help our immune system, but it also helps us produce more collagen. Collagen is a protein found in abundance in our bodies that helps with our muscle growth, connective tissue repair and also keeps our face looking youthful. Vitamin K is another essential fat soluble vitamin as it supports normal blood clotting.
- High in Vitamin A: Vitamin A is one of my favorite beauty vitamins. It helps maintain healthy skin, mucus membranes and other soft tissues found in our body. It has many beauty benefits like protecting our skin against UV damage and environmental factors that can age us, and encourages healthy cellular turnover.
- High in fiber and low in calories: Since it has 5g of fiber per cup, it can help promote healthy digestion and elimination. It’s also only around 35 calories per cup – so you can eat kale in high volume without loading up on calories.
- Has anti-inflammatory properties: Because it also contains omega-3 fatty acids it also may act as an anti-inflammatory.
How To Sneak Kale Into Your Diet
- Juice it: This is hands down one of the easiest ways to get kale into your day. All you need to do is juice it! Add a cup or two of kale to a juice blend of apple, celery and cucumber. You’ll barely taste it.
- Sneak it into your soups and stews: Any time you’re making a big batch of soup, throw a bunch of kale in the pot. You can add it to minestrone or any veggie based soup. I love adding kale to soup because it adds a ton of nutrients to the broth.
- Use it in your next burger patty: Whether you’re making a turkey burger or a veggie burger, adding shredded kale to the patty is a sure-fire way to sneak this green into your diet. If you’re making a turkey or beef burger, this is a great way to use less meat and more greens if you’re trying to transition to a more plant-based lifestyle.
- Make kale dip instead of spinach dip: I love making dips that are filled with beans legumes and veggies, it’s a delicious appetizer that will give you your daily dose of vitamins and minerals. If you’re a fan of spinach dip, then you’ll love the kale dip that I whipped up on Living Healthy Chicago – you can find the recipe over on their site!
More Kale Resources + Recipes:
If you’re super pumped to eat kale now, you can peruse our recipes using this leafy green – or you can start here with this article on cooking with different types of kale.
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