Hi Bulls!
April is Earth Month. I thought it would be fitting to make this month’s POM kale! It’s touted as the ultimate superfood and comes in a variety of types and colors. Kale is a descendent of cabbage. In fact, the earliest references to cabbage in Greek literature circa 600BC were actually talking about kale. In Scotland, this fibrous vegetable was known as “kail” and many townsfolk had “kailyards” that fed both humans and animals. When it was time for supper, you could hear people yell to “come to the kailyard”.
Similar to other dark green leafy vegetables, kale is high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin K. These nutrients have excellent anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting. The dark green color comes from the flavonoids. Kale also has a good amount of carotenoids and vitamin C and E. These are powerful antioxidants that help fight cancer-causing free radicals and support immune function. Notable, kale scores a perfect 1000 on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI), a measurement that scores nutrients per calorie which has been implemented by Whole Foods Market. This veggie definitely lives up to it’s superfood title!
Popular ways of preparing kale include chopped up in a salad, steamed, stir-fried, and roasted. Roasting is the best method to make kale chips. Chop the kale into chip size pieces, drizzle with a little olive oil and your favorite seasoning, and massage it in. Then roast them on high heat for a few minutes to get them crunchy. Kale is perfect for smoothies because it doesn’t have a strong flavor. You can mix it with some tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, and a little Greek yogurt. However, it does have a very strong texture, so don’t put too much or it will thicken.
To learn more about our produce of the month program and which local farm we get our fruits and vegetables from, visit the Produce of the Month page!
Stay safe, stay healthy!
-Karina
nutrition-nook.com 