Adding kale to your repertoire

March 6, 2014 Sarah Lawson, RD

Thank you to everyone who stopped by for the first week of National Nutrition Month yesterday! It was a big success and you made it possible! The overall feedback we received was very positive for the Kale salad we shared, even those who thought they didn’t enjoy kale! This proves a great example of exploring new, nutritious foods to add to your current diet that you might not have tried (or liked) before.

For those who found the below recipe too salty, you can reduce the sea salt to 1/2 teaspoon and add just ¼ cup of gorgonzola cheese. The sea salt is pertinent to “massage” the kale which helps tenderize the leaves. You may also substitute gorgonzola cheese for a reduced-sodium goat cheese or feta instead. Enjoy!

Massaged Kale Salad

Modified from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair (Sasquatch Books, 2008). Yields  ~6 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 1 LARGE bunch kale
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt?
  • ⅓ cup sunflower seeds or other chopped nut toasted
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • ⅓ cup dried currants
  • ¾ cup diced apple, (½ apple)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar
  • ⅓ cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

  1. De-stem kale by pulling leaf away from the stem. Wash leaves. Spin or pat dry. Rough chop kale leaves into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Put kale in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, massage salt into kale with your hands for 2 whole minutes. The volume of the kale should reduce by about a third.
  3. Put kale in a fresh bowl and discard any leftover liquid.
  4. Stir onion, currants, apple and toasted seeds/nuts into kale.
  5. Dress with oil and vinegar and toss. Toss in cheese and serve!

Nutrition per serving: 185 calories, 5 grams protein, 13 grams fat, 14 grams carbohydrate, 300 mg sodium, 2.7 grams fiber

Previous Article
Pituitary Tumors: Diagnosis and Management

The Swedish Pituitary Center at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute is one of the country’s largest center...

Next Article
Lymph nodes in children

One of the most common referrals to my pediatric surgery practice is (in the parents’ words) “to check out ...