National Kale Day? Kale YES!!

Did you know that yesterday was National Kale Day? It's okay if you didn't get a chance to celebrate. You can celebrate today (we won't tell anyone). Today I'm bringing you some fun kale facts because who doesn't love facts and some of our favorite kale recipes.

Oh and if you love Kale as much as SoulBody does...you can order some pretty fun Kale shirts on Etsy. Fun, right?!?!?

Fun Kale Facts

1. A serving of kale has more absorbable calcium than a small carton of milk.

2. Kale possesses phytonutrients which improve the liver's detox ability, and can even protect cells from stress

3. Kale tops the nutrient dense scale with one cup having only 33 calories and containing 684 percent of our daily requirement of vitamin K, 134 percent of vitamin C, 206 percent of vitamin A, plus iron, folate, omega-3s, magnesium, calcium, iron, fiber, and 2g of protein

4. Kale won't break the bank coming in at around $2.00 for about 10 to 20 organic leaves.

Some our favorite kale recipes:

Warmed Kale Salad

4 Servings

Salad

1 leek

2 large golden or red beets (leave skin on)

1 acorn squash

2 teaspoons grape seed oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

1 large head kale, chopped

Dried fruit (optional) (golden raisins, dates, cherries, cranberries...)

Lemon Garlic Dressing

1 cup walnut Oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 small garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 lemon squeezed (juice)

salt/pepper

Favorite dried herbs if desired

Blend in blender for the best consistency

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 400 F and set aside baking sheet

Place leeks, squash and beets on baking dish and toss with oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper until coated. 

Place in oven

When veggie are about 2 minutes away from completion, remove from oven, place the chopped kale on top and return to oven

Meanwhile combine dressing ingredients in bowl or blender - set aside

When veggies are done, transfer to a bowl, add dressing and top with dried fruit if desired.

Quinoa Kale Pesto Bowl with Poached Eggs  

Recipe from: The Iron You

4 servings

1 cup quinoa
½ cup kale pesto (recipe here)
Zest of one lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
4 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)

Preparation
Place quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for about 2 minutes. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.
Heat a splash of olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the drained quinoa. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, letting the water evaporate.
Add 2 cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a rolling boil, lower to a simmer (turn heat down to the lowest setting), cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered. 
Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa gently with a fork (you should see tiny spirals separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds.) 
Combine cooked quinoa with kale pesto, and mix to coat the quinoa thoroughly. 
Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. 
Divide quinoa among separate bowls.
Top off quinoa with lemon zest, chopped walnuts and red pepper flakes.
Make poached eggs and serve them over quinoa bowls. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the eggs and serve!

Sweet Green Smoothie

1 cup of frozen “white” fruit (peaches, pineapples, mangos, pears)

3-4 stalks of kale

¼ avocado

1 tablespoon each of chia, hemp and flax seeds

1 cup of coconut water

Green Machine Smoothie

6 romaine leaves

3-4 kale stalks

½ cup fresh parsley sprigs

½ cup chopped frozen pineapple

½ cup chopped frozen mango

1 inch fresh ginger

1 tablespoon each of chia, hemp and flax seeds

1 cup water or coconut water

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to eat some yummy kale!

Have a healthy day.

E