When it comes to healthy eating then kale should be right up there on your list of choice as few vegetables can boast the number of nutrients that it contains.
It addition to being a great source of vitamins, A, C and K, kale also contains manganese, copper and phytochemicals.
Vitamin A is important for helping to maintain good skin, vision and a healthy immune system. Vitamin C plays a key role in forming bone, cartilage, gums, skin and teeth, helps iron absorption and like vitamin A, supports the immune system. Vitamin K (from raw kale) helps maintain normal blood clotting and helps healthy bones.
For vegans or those following dairy-free diets, 80g of kale contains 120mg of calcium, so a great alternative for calcium intake.
Folate is in plentiful supply in kale, and it’s not just during pregnancy that folate is important, it is important for blood formation and supports the immune system.
80g of kale = 19kcals BUT 2.2g of fibre, so it’s almost fat free!
Lutein is important for eye health and experts recommend that we should have 6-10mg per day. A 250g bag of kale contains 19g of lutein.
Available from most supermarkets, kale is a pretty cost effective vegetable especially when bought in its basic form. It is possible to buy different types of kale such Pentland Brigg or Cavello Nero at certain times of the year.
More specialist kales have become trendy in the last few years with lots of varieties from Italy. If you have space in the garden or an allotment then kale is a relatively easy vegetable to grow. Check out this range of vegetable seeds.
So how do you cook kale? Well it can be steamed, sauteed, boiled or baked. You will find kale in the supermarket all year round. The smaller the leaves the more tender the kale will be, but do make sure that you eat it within a couple of days of buying or harvesting as it becomes more bitter in flavour the longer that you leave it.
Here’s one of my recipes for baked kale, click here.
With so many healthy nutrients, making kale a regular addition to our diets is a good move as it can play a key role in your healthy diet.
If you have any recipes to share for kale please let me know, I’d love to feature them.
Clean Living Clare 