What to do with Kale

Hello Folks,

Kale, hmmm, what is it and what the heck do you do with it?
We all know we should eat more "greens" but how do you cook it and make the kids eat it too?

Kale belongs to the Brassica family of vegetables (also called Cruciferous)along with broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and bok choy. They are among the top cancer-fighting foods, thanks to glucosinolate, an anti-cancer molecule (See pg 65 in the Oct/10 issue of Canadian living for more info on "Fighting Cancer in the Kitchen").
Kale is full of calcium and eating foods from this family at least 3X a week will lower your risk of developing lung, bladder, breast, stomach and colon cancers.

I buy Kale weekly but don't always feel inspired to make a stir-fry so instead, I wash and chop the entire bunch and plop it into a freezer bag and stick the bag in the freezer. Any time I am making a soup or casserole, I grab a handful of frozen kale and crumble it into tiny pieces and add to my soup or casserole. It crumbles easily when frozen which saves time chopping it into tiny pieces and makes it more palatable for kids. My kids won't notice it as much in soup if it's tiny little pieces of "green bits" as opposed to big chunks.

Freezing it ensures that no nutrients are lost with it sitting in the fridge, potentially going bad before you get around to cooking it, and also keeps a great veggie on hand.

For a quick and easy kid's thermos lunch or dinner:
Heat a carton of low sodium chicken or veggie stock to boiling, add 1-2 chopped carrots, a handful of frozen peas and a handful of frozen Kale. Boil for 10-15 minutes until veggies are soft. Add some egg soup noodles which take only 3-4 minutes to cook and you have a healthy meal that still provides the protein your kids need (in the egg noodles).
This is a staple lunch in our house and my daughter (age 6) loves it!

Now there's no excuse not to get those greens!

Best Health,
Julie