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

Weekly Food Prep #2...Salad!

Hello and welcome to the delicious salad post.

Here I intend to introduce you to my easy, weekly, salad eating frenzy.

Once a week I buy a 1 pound container of organic lettuce. I makes little baggies for each day and take these to work. Spill them out onto a reusable container from home (that I keep at work) and top the lettuce with any vegetables I have packed along.
Here are some examples:


Photo by: realfoodtulsa.blogspot.com

2 large handfuls of organic lettuce (spring mix for example)
1 handful of cherry tomatoes (b/c they need no chopping and don't get soggy)
1 chopped cucumber

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Goddess dressing (my other fav)








Here's another:

Photo by: barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com

2 large handfuls of organic lettuce (a nice chopped romaine blend)

1/2 cup cooked black beans

1/2 cup raw corn

tiny baggie of chopped cilantro

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Ranch dressing

And another:

Photo by: delicious-knowledge.com

2 large handfuls organic lettuce (kale possibly)

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup salsa

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Italian dressing

Just one more fav for the road:

Photo by: www.lifesambrosia.com

2 handfuls organic lettuce (spinach for example)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Lemon/EVOO/Salt/Pepper dressing

Sometimes I put lots of stuff, sometimes I put nothing but lettuce and dressing. Either way, this method helps me to eat all my raw veggies for the day, AND still get a good filling meal in.

*Confession* I have eated 1/2 pound of salad in one sitting before. DOnt' judge.

Eating salad it SOOOOO easy.

Did I mention how easy it is...?

Price breakdown:
1 lb. tub of organic lettuce: $5.99 divided by 5 days (workweek) = $1.20 per serving
1 bottle of dressing: $3.99/ 8 (usually lasts 8-9 days) = 50 cents per serving

WHO can say they spend under $2.00/day for a delicious nutricious lunch!?

Who can? ...You can, if you adopt these methods.

How to eat to live

My weekly regimen:

Photo by parenthoodandkids.com

SO, most people have a busy schedule that allows for limited access to fresh, nutrient-rich foods. The typical American diet consists of whatever is quick, easy, and tasty. We are often know, world-wide for burning our candles at both ends (if you've ever heard the saying). And this is unfortunately often the case.

Photo by ohsheglows.com (an awesome place to get fantastic recipes)

We get sick, and don't take the time to find out the root of the cause. We simply look for the quickest cold-suppressant we can find that will allow us to keep working and moving along at the daily grind pace.

We could stand to learn a lesson (or two) from some other cultures that value their rest.

I digress...


I endeavor to present to you my Weekly (Sunday's are my free-est day of the week) Work-Week Food Prep Regimen.

The name is actually longer than most of these items take to prepare so let's begin....

Weekly Food Prep #1: Soup
Weekly Food Prep #2: Salad
Weekly Food Prep #3: Cake (post coming soon!)