Kale 101: How to Buy, Store, & Enjoy Kale

 by Jessica Zack, HHC | September 18, 2012 | Updated: February 6, 2013 

Kale is becoming a more popular vegetable as the now trendy kale chips have hit the health food market shelves as a healthy alternative to starchy potato chips. Kale chips may be light on the hips, but they are certainly not light on the wallet!

One single-serving bag of these gourmet kale chips can cost you up to $10 — purchasing fresh kale by the bunch will save you tons of money while sparing yourself the extra calories from added processed ingredients.

Don’t just follow the trend; educate yourself. It’s time you find out exactly why and how you can introduce this super-healthy whole food into your diet.

What is Kale?

A member of the cruciferous vegetable family, kale is a relative of broccoli, cabbage, and many other healthy green leaf vegetables.¹ There are a few varieties of kale including curly kale, ornamental kale, and Tuscan or Lacinato kale known as “dinosaur” kale, each offering a slightly different taste and texture. The most common variety is curly kale, available in domestic grocery stores, recognized for its ruffled hardy leaves, and sharp peppery taste.²

Curly kale served an important role during ancient Roman times as a staple food for peasants and it is said that kale was brought to the United States by English settlers in the 17th century². However, both ornamental and dinosaur kale are more recent variations, and didn’t make their debuts until the 19th or 20th centuries.

Kale Health Benefits

Kale contains many important vitamins and minerals including³:

• Remarkably high levels of antioxidants, particularly carotenoids and flavonoids
• Manganese and other essential minerals including calcium, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus
• Vitamins: K, A, C, B
• Essential heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids
• Protein
• Fiber

This nutrient panel provided by kale has been linked to specific health benefits:

1. Kale can help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation
   The high levels of antioxidants found in kale have been linked to reduced oxidative stress and chronic inflammation associated with cancer preventative benefits. Carotenoids such as lutein and beta-carotene, and flavonoids including kaempferol, quercetin seem to play a significant role in these cancer-fighting mechanisms.
2. Kale can support the body’s detoxification processes
   Phytochemical isothiocyanates (ITCs) metabolized from glucosinolates found in kale, and high levels of sulfur compounds found in kale, help regulate and support detoxification at the cellular level. This cellular detoxification helps the body combat both dietary and environmental toxins.
3. Kale can help lower cholesterol
   Fiber-related components found in kale bind together with bile acids in the digestive tract and are excreted, thereby lowering cholesterol levels.

Buying & Storing Kale:

Look for kale in the cooled produce section of your local grocery store or health food market. It is recommended that you buy kale that is grown organically, as kale has become one of the newest members of the “Dirty Dozen,” a list of the most contaminated foods.

The leaves should be firm and deeply colored with stems that are moist and strong. Make sure that the leaves are not browning or yellowing, and they are free from small holes. If the raw leaves show signs of wilting, it is an indication that the greens have been sitting on the shelf for too long, or they were not properly stored…avoid these wilting leaves that alter the taste of the vegetable and can introduce unwanted toxins into your body.⁴

To store, keep kale refrigerated in an airtight bag. It can typically be stored for up to 5 days, but you may notice the flavor increase in bitterness with longer storage. Only wash the kale when you are ready to use it as washing before storage will promote spoilage.

How to Fit Kale Into Your Diet

• Steam kale with your favorite vegetables
• Prepare a raw kale salad
• Blend kale and add to your favorite green smoothies
• Bake kale for a healthy snack

Kale Nutrition Information

Notice how 1 cup of Kale is only 33 calories and packs substantial Vitamin A & C. In fact, Kale almost has as much vitamin C as an orange.

*This nutrition information is for one serving of raw kale. Nutrient content may be slightly altered depending on the preparation.²

The powerhouse vegetable Kale has become a popular salad green thanks to its remarkable nutrient profile. Packed with high concentrations of antioxidant vitamins and phytonutrients, and cholesterol-lowering fiber, it is no wonder that Kale is fighting for a superfood title. An added benefit is that there’s no need to limit your intake of Kale to salads and savory baked snacks.

Many of us rely on our favorite homemade smoothies and protein shakes to provide us with a delicious and nutrient-dense lift. So, why not add Kale to your ingredient repertoire and take your smoothies to the next level? Blend kale with immune-boosting fruit to make a sweet smoothie strong enough to fight off this cold season….

Raw kale can enhance any smoothie by adding an impressive 206% of the daily requirement of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and 684% of vitamin K. Fruits like strawberries provide an additional vitamin C boost as well as a great amount of folate, potassium, manganese, and fiber. And, if you use a base like non-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt, it can provide you with up to 22 grams of protein per serving.

Kale Smoothie Recipe | Ingredients

• 1 tightly packed cup of kale, washed and chopped
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 cup of non-fat or low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
• up to 1 cup of ice

* Makes 1-2 servings

Quick Tip: Have some extra fresh kale leftover and worried that you wont use it up before it spoils? Just blend the leftover greens with a little water, pour into an ice cube tray, and freeze! Now you have nutritious kale cubes to quickly pop in the blender for your next smoothie, defrost to make a nourishing juice, or add a boost to your favorite soup.

Kale Smoothie Recipe | Preparation Instructions

1. Place the kale, strawberries and yogurt into your blender.

(If you use fresh strawberries, and are looking for a slushy consistency, you’ll want to add up to 1 cup of ice; if you use frozen strawberries, you may want to add less ice, if any at all).

2. On full strength, blend the ingredients together until the kale looks like it is finely incorporated into the smoothie

3. Enjoy your vitamin- and mineral-packed smoothie! Try other delicious kale smoothie recipes, or simply add kale into your favorite blended protein shakes.

Kale Smoothie Recipe | Ingredient Suggestions

Kale & Almond Milk Smoothie:

• 1C kale
• 1C almond milk
• 1-2 Tbsp nut butter
• ½ banana

Kale & Blueberry-Honey Smoothie:

• 1C kale
• ½ C blueberries
• ½ C strawberries
• ½ C plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp honey

Kale & Orange Smoothie:

• 1C kale
• 1C ice
• 1C orange juice
• 2 Tbsp mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp cilantro
• 2 Tbsp parsley

*For fruit smoothies use frozen fruit or just add up to 1C of ice

Customize your next smoothie by adding an extra boost…
Protein boost: 2-3 Tbsp whey, soy, hemp protein powder, 2 Tbsp all-natural nut butter
Electrolyte boost: 1 C all-natural coconut water, ½ banana
Vitamin C boost: ¼ C lemon juice, 1 orange, ½ grapefruit, 1 C raspberries, ½ C cranberries
Omega fatty acid boost: 2-3 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 Tbsp flaxseed oil, 1-2 Tbsp ground of milled flax

Be sure to share your favorite kale smoothie recipes with us below!

While kale is a superfood with impressive nutrition benefits, eating kale raw can be difficult for some to enjoy. Don’t let its sometimes-bitter, tough texture intimidate you from using it in its simplest form.

I’m going to let you in on a huge secret on how you can transform the flavor and texture of these leaves to your liking. It’s simple – just give the leaves a massage.

I know what you must be thinking, but experienced kale lovers take kale massaging very seriously. Just like people in a tense and bitter mood, this cruciferous vegetable responds very well to a deep-tissue massage.

Wondering how you “massage” kale? After breaking the kale leaves up, grab a bunch in your hands: massage and roll them together for a few minutes. You should actually feel the tough leaves breakdown and become tender. If you taste them, you’ll notice that the bitterness that some find displeasing magically mellows.

Massaged kale is not only more pleasant on the palate: breaking through the tough fiber barrier allows for easier digestion so that the plentiful vitamins K, A, C, minerals calcium, and manganese is absorbed more easily into the bloodstream. Something great about a vegetable like kale, full of nutritious fat-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble phytochemicals, is that it can be paired with a healthy oil, like olive oil, which helps the body further absorb and utilize these compounds.

Now, all that’s left is finding the perfect toppings to complement the kale for a tasty and nutrient-dense salad. Sweet citrus fruits stand up well next to kale, and creamy avocado is a great addition of healthy fat that will further mute any residual bitterness.

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped
• ½ avocado, sliced
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds
• 2 oranges (1 for the dressing, and 1 set aside to top the salad)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch of sea salt and black pepper

*Makes 2-3 servings

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Preparation Instructions

1. To make the dressing, squeeze the juice of one whole orange into a cup or bowl and add the olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly and set the dressing aside.
2. To prepare the salad, put the washed, chopped, and massaged kale into a large bowl. Add in the sliced avocado and sliced almonds. Peel the second orange and after removing as much of the white pith as possible, cut up into large chunks and add to the salad.
3. Pour some of the dressing on the salad and enjoy! (A good tip to remember when making a kale salad is to let the dressing sit on the greens for at least 5 minutes, up to an hour; this allows for the greens to continue to soften and absorb some of the flavor).

Raw Kale Salad Recipe | Toppings

• Chopped apples, walnuts, onion, raisons with an olive oil and fresh lemon juice dressing
• Fresh or dried cranberries, sundried tomato, hazelnuts, raisins with an apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing
• Dried currants, pine nuts, parmesan cheese shavings with a honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing
• Grape tomatoes, olives, feta cheese with an olive oil, lemon juice and crushed red pepper dressing

Hope you enjoy trying this recipe and find some new enjoyment of kale now that you know all it needs is a little bit of TLC to make a super tender and delicious raw kale salad! We’d love to hear what you think of massaging kale…and what you choose to include in your salad.

Kale is a cruciferous vegetable rich in many oxidation-fighting antioxidants and nourishing vitamins and minerals. Don’t let its lettuce-like appearance fool you: this vegetable is a lot more versatile than you make think.

Sure, paired with your favorite raw vegetables, kale makes a delicious and detoxifying raw salad, but did you know that kale could be baked into low-calorie crispy chips that are practically guilt-free?

You may find bagged kale chips in gourmet supermarkets and health food stores, but they’ll cost you up to $10 and up to 250 calories per bag. With those stats, a powerful whole food snack quickly loses its value. A bag of zesty nacho-flavored kale chips grabs attention, but how about its lengthy list of ingredients that raise the calories, fat and carbohydrates?

What’s the solution? Skip the decadent packaged kale chips…pick up a fresh bunch of kale from the produce aisle instead and follow this quick and easy baked kale chips recipe. Kale maintains its wholesome reputation and you spend no more than $3. Everybody wins!

Baked Kale Chips Recipe | Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of fresh kale
• 1/3 tsp of pre-mixed seasoning of sea salt, rosemary, garlic, sage, black pepper
• 1 pinch of paprika
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

*This recipe provides up to 3 servings of kale chips, each containing less than 80 calories.

Quick tips: Try using an olive oil spray to cut the calories down even further.

There are tons of different ways you can dress up your kale chips. For a fancy cashew crust, try soaking 1 cup of cashews in water for a few hours, then blending the cashews with 1/3 cup of water, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, and 1 tbsp of olive oil; coat the kale with the cashew dressing before baking.

Feel free to experiment with different seasonings. Add some chili powder and splash of lime juice after baking. You can even add 1-2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a great nutty flavor.

Interested in keeping it raw? If your oven can be set on a low temperature of 100 ℉ then raw kale chips can be made in the oven. If not, the kale chips can be placed in a dehydrator for about 2 hours.

Baked Kale Chips Recipe | Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 ℉.
2. Carefully tear the kale leaves off of the firm stems and break them up into pieces as if you are making a salad. The pieces will shrink in the oven so don’t make them too small! Thoroughly wash the leaves and then pat the leaves dry.

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle your kale leaves with the olive oil and the mixture of seasonings. If the seasoning is not pre-mixed, go ahead and create a mixture before adding them to the leaves.
   *Be careful not to over-salt: if salt is not included in your seasoning mix a generous pinch should be plenty. Toss the leaves gently to give them an even coat of the olive oil and seasonings.
2. Spread the kale leaves out on a baking sheet in one layer. The leaves will quickly shrink in the oven so don’t worry if they are close together on the pan. The oil mixture on the leaves should prevent them from sticking so you shouldn’t have to use a non-stick spray.

1. Bake the kale leaves in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

1. Enjoy!

If you want to learn more about how to use kale and some interesting ways to work it into your diet, check out this Kale 101 article . Hope you enjoy the recipe—if you try it out, let us know how you like it!

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/12/19/kale-smoothie-recipe/

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/12/05/raw-kale-salad-recipe/

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/10/10/baked-kale-chips-recipe/

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/18/kale/

It is.

I mean... huh? o.O

Sorry if it is a little long.  It is four articles in one.  I need to go get the links still and post them.

It's not that. It's just... what does this have to do with Sports?

Heck, what does this have to do with anything?

I put it under sports because it is in direct relation with weight training and exercise.  

And just changing things up on vgchartz every once and a while in case people want to be active as well XD

Fair enough haha. ^_^

It wouldn't hurt if some of us gamrConnectians ate a little better.

I get Kale in my CSA basket all the time.

Just got some this week in fact.

Also fine just in salads.

That's how I eat mine.  Kale, Vinigrette Dressing, almonds, fat free cheese, and turkey pepperoni