KALE: Dark Leafy Winter Greens…a great source of Nutrition

Dark Leafy winter greens are highly nutritious and a great sources of antioxidants to get in this year.  Kale goes well in salads and in soups all year long.  My favorite variety is the Organic Italian Lacinato, aka Organic Lacinato Kale .  With many types of Kale available, I find this one to be far better then others. Kale is not new and dates back to the late 18th century.  Being a very hardy and cold tolerant crop, its taste is greatly enhanced in cold, frosty conditions.  It takes sixty two days for Organic Lacinato Kale to fully mature and be ready to eat.   Kale is at its freshest raw state when picked up from your local farmer’s market, C.S.A., or local healthy food grocer.

Organic Kale has strong, bitter, almost pungent notes however this is a flavor that can be rounded well with lemon, tomato and dried organic un-sulphured fruit like dried cranberries or raisins.  The fruit nicely melds the bitter notes with a subtle sweetness giving a flavor you are sure to love.

TIP: Use some extra virgin olive oil to soften the leaves to perfection.

Preparation:  Raw Organic leaves the highest concentration of nutrients intact.

Recipe: We have a great Raw Lemon Cranberry Kale Salad in our recipe section that is incredibly delicious

Nutrition: Kale is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, and carotenoids.  Also contains sulforaphane delivering a chemical thought to hold  anti-cancer properties. In addition, has indole-3-carbinol, a chemical known to boost DNA repair in cells and thought to block the growth of cancer cells.  Kale is also considered to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Be sure to get some Kale in every chance you get!