We’ll keep this short, people.
Eat kale. And more kale.
Seriously.
Kale is a cold-weather crop–as in, it’s about to be in abundance again–and it’s packed with nutrients. It’s loaded with Vitamins K, A and C and has been shown to lower cholesterol, lower your cancer risk and reduce inflammation.
Recently, I made the most amazing kale salad from a recipe I found in Country Living. Below is the recipe, as well as another couple kale-centered recipes I read about in the September issue of Self.
Citrusy Salmon with Kale and Barley
or
…try the Starbucks Hearty Vegan Rice bowl featuring KALE!
Country Living Chopped Collard and Kale Salad with Lemon-Garlic Dressing
Disclaimer: DO NOT MAKE THE ENTIRE RECIPE! I made 1/4 of it–assuming I’d get about two servings–and ended up with FOUR generous portions. Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to eat it more than once, but these salads only last so long in the fridge…
- 1/2 cup(s) olive oil
- Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 clove(s) garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
- 1 bunch(es) collard greens, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 bunch(es) kale, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 avocados, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 carrots, peeled and grated
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs, diced
- 2 ear(s) (about 2 cups) corn, kernels removed
- 1 pint(s) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup(s) pecans, toasted
- 6 strip(s) cooked bacon, crumbled
- In a medium bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients. Refrigerate dressing for 1 hour.
- In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Toss gently with reserved lemon-garlic dressing to coat.
Yields: 8 servings
Nutritional Information
(per serving)
| Calories | 374 |
| Total Fat | 31g |
| Saturated Fat | — |
| Cholesterol | 100mg |
| Sodium | 344mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 18g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7g |
| Sugars | — |
| Protein | 10g |
| Calcium | — |
Holly R. Layer
Holly is a registered dietician and a freelance writer. She works as a clinical dietitian at DeGraff Memorial Hospital in North Tonawanda, teaches fitness classes at the Southtowns Family Branch YMCA and shares her love of food through her blog www.thefrozenpineapple.com (new website coming soon), as well as Buffalo News (Refresh), and the East Aurora Co-op Market (the "Eat This" blog series you see here). She lives in East Aurora with her husband Andrew, an East Aurora native and East Aurora Co-op Market board member.