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Many of us are busy and barely have time to make nutritious meals. How does making a five-minute superfood dish of kale and using it four additional times sound? Another added benefit is that your kids may actually enjoy it too!

Kale is a powerful vegetable recognized for its nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor. 1 cup of chopped kale has 33 calories, 9 percent of the daily-recommended value of calcium, 206 percent of vitamin A, 134 percent of vitamin C, and a whopping 684 percent of vitamin K. It is also an exceptional source of minerals, such as copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

A diet rich in the powerful antioxidant vitamin K can reduce the overall risk of developing or dying from cancer, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Basic Kale Recipe

(5-minute prep time)

1 bunch of organic kale
1 organic avocado
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Sea salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Optional adds: turmeric, black-pepper, cayenne, EVOO (1 tbsp), any seeds or protein of your choice.

Wash and dry the kale (and your hands) and chop the kale. Now get ready to “massage” the leaves with your hands. Place the chopped kale in a large bowl and scoop as much of the ripe avocado as you want into the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and use your hands to massage or mix the ingredients together.

Massaging the kale amplifies the taste compared to just tossing it. An added benefit is getting my 3-year-old daughter involved in the massaging preparation. Yes, she eats it too, with the creamy avocado coating. Having her little hands involved is the secret weapon for getting toddlers to enjoy the dish.

You can add extra lemon and sea salt to suit your palate. The lemon preserves the kale, so it will stay fresh in the fridge for days if kept in an airtight container. Now it’s ready to eat as is, or you can toss in some pantry staples that you may already have, like cashews, walnuts, or dried cranberries.

To make it a meal, you can add protein such as chickpeas, seeds, chicken (or other proteins you fancy), as well as other vegetables, such as sliced carrots, radishes, or red onions. For an extra nutritional kick, you can incorporate additional superfoods such as goji berries or blueberries. Or go citrus with chopped grapefruit. Adding the spice turmeric and black-pepper can pump-up the anti-inflammatory properties of this dish as well as the flavor.

You can also sprinkle on cayenne pepper for some added zest and weight loss benefits. A study published in the journal of Physiology & Behavior suggests that consuming just a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper along with a meal can help suppress appetite and burn calories.

You can put the basic recipe to use for breakfast, lunch, or dinner by adding the kale mix to stir-fries, soup, quesadillas, or scrambled eggs.

The possibilities with this five-minute kale recipe are endless. Get creative, enjoy, and be well.

What are your favorite kale recipes? Let’s share the love. Write us and let us know or leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you and we’ll share your ideas with the rest of the Embody Wellness Tribe.

 

With Gratitude and Love,

Christine and Stephanie

EMBODY Wellness. EMBODY Change. EMBODY Your Best Self.