Dino Kale...COLOSSAL!

Look at the pretty kale plant! Beautiful AND delicious! Photo by: home.howstuffworks.com

Hmm...Kale. A cruciferous vegetable. Until recently kale was a relatively secret food. Anyone whose family made "greens" knew about kale but they NEVER would have thought about eating it...you guessed it...RAW~!

Perfect for wraps, dips and general munchies! Photo by: rbgsocialclub.wordpress.com (check their site, these guys are the truth!)

I really really like raw kale. I eat it dipped in hummus instead of pita chips...chopped finely (like you would a cabbage) and eaten as a salad with a nice balsamic dressing...left overnight and it turns into a coleslaw of sorts super yummy! I eat it steamed with a squeeze of lemon juice and almond slivers...ooh and use it in place of "bread" for my sandwiches wraps and tacos. I could go on and on!

Yummy kale salad with blackberries, strawberries, kiwi and a citris dressing! Photo by: nutrition4women.net

I recently put my aunt and uncle on to kale and they were pleasantly surprised at the taste as an alternative to other lettuce options. We mainly eat it as a salad but kale can be blanched (basically quick steamed) also!

You can boil or steam. I personally prefer steaming and using the large leaves as "taco shells" or "bread" and rolling just about anything up in that sucker. YUM! ...recipes at the bottom. :-)

NOTE: Steaming the kale kicks up the fiber-related components and makes them more effective at binding together with bile acid in your digestive tract.

Couldn't get any better than this! Could it? Nah. Photo by: www.karenville.com

Back to our mega dino dose of kale...

Kale! Great for smoothies, dips, patés, pestos, and in place of chips! Photo by: www.alexandracooks.com

Kale makes GREAT SMOOTHIES and the juicing options are seriously endless. This is one of the main reasons why kale is such a staple in my daily food choices, it's just so stinkin' versatile! And yes, I do a green smoothie every* day. (*mostly every day) :-) hey...I'm human too okay.

Kale smoothies for kids (and grown-up kids too!) -Ingredients: (3) Bananas, 12oz. Apple Juice, and 3-4 large pieces of Kale. Blend it, Drink it! EASY! Photo by: www.fortheloveoffoodblog.com

Why do vegans, veggie-tarians and carnivores alike love kale? I could seriously write a mini-series on the benefits of kale there is so much to know, so here we go!

Let me just start by saying KALE CONTAINS: Antioxidants (prevents oxidative stress by boosting our cartenoids and flavonoids), Anti-Inflammatory (prevents chronic inflammation), Cancer-preventing (bladder, breast, colon, ovarian, prostate), detox-activating properties.

Did you catch that? Per Calorie, Kale has more IRON than beef, MORE Calcium than milk AND 10% more Vitamin C than Spinach. Hello! Photo by: fittipdaily.com

Kale also contains crazy amounts of Vitamin K (like somewhere around 1300% of our daily recommended intake!), 354% of our daily Vitamin A intake, 88% of our daily Vitamin C intake and a long list of other vitals like manganese, fiber, copper, calcium, vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6, vitamin E, iron, potassium, magnesium, protein, omega-3 fats,  folate, phosphorous! ...ALL IN JUST ONE CUP OF COOKED KALE! Which by the way is only roughly 36 calories! Ahem, you do the math here.

Simple, easy and nutritious! Photo by: localfoods.about.com

As a transitioning raw vegan I LOVE KALE for it's yummy taste as an alternative to other lettuces, for its easy preparation and best of all its nutritional content. As someone transitioning to raw veganism it is important to make my meals as nutrient-rich as possible and kale certainly fits the bill!

I hope you will incorporate some kale into your family's diet this week! Just give it a try! Worst case, you steam it and add some toasted almonds, a squeeze of lemon juice and some seasonings...you won't be disappointed.

Vegan mega-salad with all the fixin's! Get it! Photo by: www.thevintagemixer.com

My favorite kale juice recipe to date:
2-3 handfulls of chopped kale, 2 apples (add another one if you need more sweet), and 1 lemon! Easy! 20 more great kale recipes HERE!


Take my advice and eat you some TODAY!

Live. Love. Well.

~h

Leggo my Mango!

Mangoes come in all shapes and sizes, just like me and you! Love them! Photo by: www.mango.org 

That's right, you heard me! Get your own! Silly

I have loved mangoes since first taste. The adventure, the thrill, the challenge, the taste, the mess...a kid's dream of how life should be when it comes to eating! Sweet and sticky and so much FUN!

As grandma would say: "Go for what you know!" There's no wrong way to eat a mango! Photo by: darlinggourmet.com

Mangoes come in many shapes and sizes and can satisfy even my most desperate of hungers.

"Why would I want to eat a mango?" you might ask...glad you did. Here is vivacious vegan to spell it out for you:

M: Memory. Mangoes have been linked to increased concentration and memory due to the glutamine acid in them. Don't forget to eat your mangoes!
A: One word: Antioxidants. Mangoes contain tons of antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat. These hard-to-pronounce elements protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.
N: Neutralizes! Mangoes are fantastic at bringing balance to a highly acidic body, as they have wonderful alkalizing properties.
G: Low glycemic levels. Mangoes are great for diabetics, especially the leaves! You can boil the leaves, then let them soak overnight in the same water, drain and drink in the morning for a natural way to regulate your insulin levels.
O: Open your EYES! Mangoes are well known for high levels of Vitamin A and C. Just one cup of mangoes can provide up to 25% of your daily Vitamin A intake and 76% of your daily Vitamin C intake. Eating one mango a day can help you see better at night and help prevent dry eyes.

Mangoes make such lush smoothies! Makes you want to get one RIGHT NOW! 

The best way to know if a mango is ripe and ready for eating is two ways (in my experience):
1) Check the firmness of the mango. Squeeze it gently and assess: is it hard as a rock, toooo soft and squishy or a bit pliable to the press yet you couldn't make a thumb print in the skin even if you wanted to. This business of fruit picking can certainly seem tricky, but as with all things, practice will bring progress.

So venture out on your first 10 for $10 mango spree and test out your skills!

See the little knob at the top? (bottom left of the fruit) That's what you'll pop off to check for ripeness.
Photo by:  www.veganyumyum.com

2) Press right at the top of the "stem" or at least where one once was. There is often a small knob that can be plucked off, if this knob is next to impossible to flick with the tip of your thumb, it's not ripe enough. If it is easy to pull off, that is a good sign the mango is ripe.

Now there are as many ways to EAT A MANGO as there are households in my neighborhood so I won't go into detail here...but like my grandma always said..."Go for what you know!"

Delicious, sweet and nutritious! Photo by: www.wearenotmartha.com

Whether you slice them or peel them with your fingers...eat them in neat chunks or suck all the juice from the top...get you some mangoes in your life TODAY!

*TIP: If they do not carry them at your local grocery, check your local Hispanic/Mexican market or Asian market. Also here's a great post on how to cut a mango. Show them some love!

BONUS: Mango Salsa Recipe:

Mango, Avocado, Lime, Red onion, evoo, sal, peppa, cilantro, jalapeno, tomato, garlic....YUM!
Click the link for the mind blowing recipe! Photo by: www.makeitnaked.com

Easy Mango Salsa recipe!

Live. Love. Well.
~h