Kale - your new friend with benefits!

I can be heard saying time and again, that everyone needs to increase green leafy vegetables in their diets.  I try my best, but I fall into this category as well.  It is the food that is missing the most for everyone!  Usually when you hear green leafy veggies, you think of spinach.  Spinach is great! But there are other green leaves that you can experiment with, including swiss chard, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, and KALE!

I'm not saying don't eat meat, but increasing your consumption of these vegetables cuts down on food costs, and has low or no bad environmental impact on our earth i.e. they are sustainable!

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse.  It reduces inflammation which therefore reduces the chance of chronic disease.  Kale contains many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants such as selenium, Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin C.  It contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which are important for eye health and help reduce the chance of age related macular degeneration.  Getting these vitamins and minerals also boost your immune system (eat some kale when you're sick!).

Kale also provides you with fiber.  Fiber helps with bowel regularity and helps prevent a lot of health problems.  We should be shooting for around 25g of fiber per day.  Other sources of fiber are broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts and carrots.

Kale also contains iron.  Although the bioavailability of it is less than animal sourced iron (iron from meat protein is better absorbed) you can still get your iron from kale, soybeans, lentils, spinach, swiss chard and collards.

Kale provides you with a high dose of calcium.  You do not need milk to get calcium.  Now days, unless you're buying organic milk, you can rest assured you are drinking hormones, steroids, grain and a whole lot of other things you wouldn't put in your mouth if you knew.  Other sources are collards, cabbage and bok choy.

And who woulda thought? Kale provides you with a healthy dose of omega 3's!

Kale also helps with respiration.  I notice when I run, if I'm eating my green leafy veggies I'll be able to breathe better.  I've had my mother tell me the same thing about her asthma.

Try adding kale to stews and soups, blending it up in a smoothie or making a green juice with it.  I make kale chips sometimes and you can serve that on it's own or with a healthy veggie dip.  You can even replace your spinach on your salads with it!  Experiment! The world is your oyster:)