It’s been probably a couple of years since I first heard that ‘kale this’ and ‘kale that’. I have also heard that it’s beneficial for this and for that; that it is even a super food… Oh my, I now think this may be the panacea. And here I am with my long face because I have never considered myself a big fan of cabbages, even when they have been in the human diet since forever just like other greens.
It’s part of the curly cabbage family, and it is considered as a super food thanks to all the properties it has. It’s very low in calorie count and quite high in water and fiber. It also has minerals, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, vitamin C, beta-carotenes, vitamin K, vitamin B6… See what I mean? It’s not a myth, the information is available everywhere.
Among all the benefits of eating this satisfying winter crucifer is the improvement of digestion, its contribution to cardio-vascular health, as well as having healthy skin and bones. Kale also reduces the risk of cancer, helps improve glucose levels in your blood stream, which makes it an interesting alternative to control diabetes and even prevent asthma from developing.
People in the movie and television industry in the United States consider it one of their go-to foods, to the point of making it the most popular kind of cabbage since the Middle Ages. Back then, it was already well-known mainly in Europe and Asia. However, and for what I was able to investigate and have seen, kale has become immensely popular in Mexico, Spain, and France as well.
Varieties today include leaves that are completely green to others with bright colors in their stems easily found with small produce growers in local markets.
Nonetheless, the most important question rests in how to include such a nature’s jewel full of antioxidants and which is still in season in our regime. I have got to admit that after the research carried out, it embezzles the highly popular spinach from my childhood. Therefore, apart from the kale chips I already shared some days ago around here, we can also use this cabbage to prepare smoothies and juices for breakfast, include it in salads, and even as side dishes to the main course of our meals. Maybe a tasty suggestion would be to sauté them in a little bit of olive oil with some finely chopped onion and garlic and seasoned with a a dash of soy sauce emulsified with tahini and sprinkled with crispy pancetta on top.
