What’s So Great About Kale?

What’s So Great About Kale?

A great little book that I accidentally came across while starting my Christmas shopping at Winners is 100 Best Health Foods.  The following is an excerpt from the book about kale, the popular *new* superfood.

Deep green kale contains the highest levels of antioxidants of all vegetables and is a very good source of vitamin C.

Kale is one of the most nutritious members of the Brassica family.  It rates as the vegetable highest in antioxidant capacity on the ORAC scale, and contains more calcium and iron than any other vegetables.  A single portion contains twice the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, which helps the vegetable’s high iron content to be absorbed in our bodies.  One portion also gives about a fifth of the daily calcium requirement for an adult.  Kale is rich in selenium, which helps fight cancer, and it contains magnesium and vitamin E for a healthy heart.  The range of nutrients kale provides will keep skin young looking and healthy.

  • Rich in flavonoids and antioxidants to fight cancers
  • Contains indoles, which can help lower “bad” cholesterol and prevent cancer
  • Calcium rich for healthy bones
  • Extremely rich in carotenes to protect eyes

Did You Know?

Kale contains naturally occurring substances that can interfere with the functioning of the thyroid gland − those with thyroid problems may not want to eat kale. 

Practical Tips

  • Wash kale before use as the curly leaves may contain sand or soil.
  • Don’t discard the outer, deep green leaves − those contain rich amounts of carotenes and indoles. 
  • Kale is good steamed or stir-fried and its strong taste goes well with bacon, eggs and cheese
  • Kale, like spinach, shrinks a lot during cooking, so make sure you add plenty to the pan!

My Quick & Easy Salad Dressing

I often make a quick and easy kale salad with homemade salad dressing at the end of a busy day.

For the homemade salad dressing, all I do is combine the following ingredients into a mason jar and shake.  Then drizzle over the kale and let it “soak” for a little bit.  Then just add in whatever other veggies that you enjoy — I particularly like tomatoes, cucumbers, avocadoes and a bit of feta cheese!

  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • A small spoonful of dijon mustard or honey mustard
  • A bit of maple syrup

Let me know what you think!

 

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What’s a discovery call/meeting?  It’s where we get to know each other better to ensure that I’m the right practitioner for you and that you have the opportunity to ask your questions about Naturopathic Medicine before we move forward with an initial Naturopathic consultation.

 

Here are a few more posts on dietary or lifestyle options that you might also be interested in:

 

 

 

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