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If you've never tried Kale, now might be the right time. These green leaf vegetables are very high in nutrients and vitamins, making them one of the most popular superfoods.
Kale has actually become a general consumption since ancient Roman times and has long been circulating as a trendy vegetable substitute for spinach in various parts of Europe since decades ago. Not many people know that kale comes from a cabbage family - one clump with broccoli, cauliflower, and mustard greens.
Why should you eat kale?
Kale and spinach are two "superfood" vegetables that can support all your diet efforts, but when discussing nutritional value, both kale and spinach have different strengths. Spinach has almost half more calories per serving than kale - 33 kcal per 60 gram kale. Even so, calm down. Both are unlikely to result in weight gain. The high fiber content in spinach makes it the best food for those who suffer from eating problems.
Entering kale in your diet will provide adequate nutrition to support healthy skin, hair and bones, and healthy digestion, as well as reduce the risk of heart disease. Other health benefits that Kale might have include improving blood glucose control in diabetics, reducing cancer risk, lowering blood pressure, and reducing the risk of developing asthma.
Kale vs. Spinach: Which is superior?
Spinach defeats kale in the percentage of iron and magnesium content per serving needed for the body. Spinach also ranks higher for folate, nutrition is very important for pregnant women or women who want to get pregnant. Folic acid has been associated with a reduced risk of small gestational age, a term used to describe infants smaller than the usual number for the number of weeks of pregnancy.
But, although the nutritional content of spinach is very strong, it does not mean that kale has no benefits at all. Curly green vegetables contain higher protein and calcium (60 grams of kale provide 9 percent of your total daily calcium requirement, compared to 3 percent of spinach) - two nutrients are also needed for optimal body health. But apparently, it is the vitamin content that makes kale worthy of comparing the most popular superfood titles. These dark green leafy vegetables have more than four times the amount of vitamin C and more vitamin A (9 percent and 206 percent of the total daily recommendations) than spinach with the same portion. Vitamins C and A are nutrients needed for healthy eyes and skin. One serving of kale contains an impressive 907 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin K, an essential nutrient for bone protection and blood clotting.
In addition, anyone who has ever cooked spinach must understand that this plant has a habit of shrinking which is really annoying. For this reason, you will need at least 650 grams of raw spinach per serving to meet all of the body's spinach nutrients needed. You only need about 100 grams of kale to make one serving. Not only that. Kale will not shrink dramatically when cooked. Kale is also more "heavy" and denser than spinach, which means you only need to eat a little kale to feel full.
Want to start trying out kale, but confused how to work around it in your eating menu? Check out a number of healthy recipes below.
Healthy recipes using kale
1. Red bean and kale soup
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Number of servings: 6 people
Calories: 250 kcal
What you need:
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 150 grams of chopped onions
- 65 grams of medium-cut carrots
- 50 grams of chopped celery
- 1/2 tsp salt, for two
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 950 ml of ready-to-eat vegetable broth, for two
- One bunch of kale (about 450 grams), remove the roots
- 15 ounces of black beans, boiled, rinse, drain, for two
- 15 ounces of red beans, boiled, rinse, drain
- 1/2 tsp black pepper seeds, grind and puree
- 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar (alternative: apple vinegar or balsamic vinegar)
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
How to cook:
- Heat the pan in medium heat. Pour olive oil; shake the pan so that the oil covers the inside of the pan. Add the bombs, carrots, celery, and saute for 6 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add 1/4 tsp salt and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add three cups of broth (@ 240 ml) and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and leave to simmer for 3 minutes or until crispy-soft kale.
- Add half the black beans and the remaining vegetable broth to a blender or food processor; puree. Add black bean puree, remaining whole black beans, and red beans to the soup pan. Add pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat, let stand for 5 minutes. Add the remaining salt, vinegar and rosemary. Stir well. Serve hot.
2. Kale chips
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Servings: 1-2 servings
Number of calories: 84 kcal
What you need:
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 2 tsp of soy sauce gluten-free (tamari sauce)
- 2 tsp apple cider or balsamic vinegar
- 400 grams of kale, lunch leaves
- 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
How to cook:
- Preheat the oven to 218ºC.
- In the container, add the kale and pour the olive oil, soy sauce and vinegar; stir well. Divide the kale portion evenly into 2 thin baked pans; bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until crisp golden, stirring occasionally. Lift.
- Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Serve it.
3. Kale stir-fry
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Portion: 4 people
Number of calories: 100 kcal
What you need:
- 1 tie (14 ounces) kale
- 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 180 ml of low-salt chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp salt
- A pinch of black pepper powder
- 1/4 ounce of grated parmesan cheese (optional)
How to cook:
- Broaden the kale leaves, then chop roughly. Rinse in a sieve container, drain a little but leave a little water.
- Heat oil in a frying pan in low heat. Add the garlic, stir it; saute until fragrant golden onion (3-4 minutes). Transfer the garlic to a clean container, set aside.
- Re-heat the oil in medium heat, add the kale and the stock. Cover and let it cook until the kale softens (3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving plate.
- Sprinkle stir-fried kale with fried garlic and grated parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
4. Chicken kale and cabbage
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Portion: 2 people
Number of calories: 381 kcal
What you need:
- 100 grams of buckwheat (alternative: vermicelli or wheat noodles)
- 100 grams of kale, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 2 filets of lean chicken breast and skin, thinly sliced iris
- 25 grams of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced matches
- 1 red paprika, remove seeds, slice lengthwise
- 1 handful of brussel sprout (mini cabbage), cut into four pieces
- 1 tablespoon of low-salt soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of apple vinegar or balsamic
- 1 lemon, squeeze the juice and grate the skin
How to cook:
- Cook the noodles according to the packaging instructions label, drain, and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan and enter the kale with a little water. Cook kale for 1-2 minutes until it will wither (still slightly crispy). Move in a sieve container and rinse in cold running water to keep the color.
- In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and cook the chicken until golden brown, remove, set aside. Add the ginger, paprika and cabbage to the pan; stir-fry until slightly soft. Add chicken, kale and noodles. Stir it up.
- Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, grated orange peel and juice with a little water to make a thick sauce. Serve hot.
5. Saute kale with eggs, potatoes and spicy sausages
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Portion: 2 people
Number of calories: 463 kcal
What you need:
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 80 grams of blackpepper sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 bomb fruit, finely chopped
- 100 grams of kale
- 400 grams of potatoes, cut roughly (medium size)
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder (optional)
- 2 eggs
How to cook:
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in medium heat, add sausage and bomb. Fry until the sausage is golden brown and withered.
- Enlarge the heat, add the kale and saute for 1 minute until the kale starts to wilt. Add the potatoes and seasonings (salt pepper and paprika powder) for 5 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and softened. Saute and stir evenly occasionally.
- While waiting for the cooked kale, fry the eggs of the cow's eye or boil half-cooked.
- Serve stir-fried kale on a serving plate, add eggs on top.
6. Perkedel
Preparation time: 50 minutes
Servings: 18-20 fritters
What you need:
Perkedel:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, mashed for puree
- 350 grams of quinoa, boil, drain
- 135 grams of kale, from the stem of the leaf, roll, slice roughly lengthwise
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated
- A pinch of paprika powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4-6 tablespoons of coconut oil or grape seed
Dip sauce:
- 75 grams of greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of hiram pepper powder
- A little chili sauce, for extra sauce
How to cook:
- In one container, add all the ingredients, mix together and mix well.
- Heat oil in a small frying pan. With a ladle, take enough dough, form the ball, and put 4-6 pieces of cake into the pan. Flatten the top of the cake slightly. Cook for 3-4 minutes for each side, until the cake is cooked golden brown. Lift, drain oil, set aside.
- To mix the dipping sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- Serve warm kale cakes with dipping sauce and chili sauce.
7. Empanada
Preparation time: 80 minutes
Portion: 12 pieces
Number of calories: 279 kcal
What you need:
Empanada skin:
- 350 grams of multipurpose wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 50 grams of unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons of corn oil or sunflower seed
- 1 orange, squeeze the juice
- White milk, for basting
Stuffing:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 150 grams of lean beef / pork
- 150 grams of kale, roughly chopped
- 100 grams of cabbage, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 50 grams of raisins
- 50 grams of almonds or roasted sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons of natural honey
- 100 grams of Swiss cheese, diced
How to cook:
- For filling: heat oil in a skillet, saute onion until fragrant and wilt Add meat, saute 3-4 minutes then add kale, cabbage, and paprika. Stir it up. Cover the pan and let it cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add raisins, beans, and honey, season salt pepper, remove, cool.
- For empanada skin: put eggs, flour, butter, oil, and a little salt into a food processor. Pour the dredge juice. Process until it becomes a smooth dough. Wrap the asonan with cling wrap, put it in the fridge.
- Heat the electric oven (190ºC) or gas (170ºC). Take the dough, form it into 12 balls, then flatten it into a flat circle (± 12 cm in diameter). Add the cheese to the filling mixture, mix well, and spread evenly for each skin. Fold two empanada skins to cover the filling, then using the fingertips, curl or swirl the semicircular end to seal the meeting. (raw empanadas can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours)
- Place the empanada in a baking sheet (spread cooking spray), spread the surface of the empanada with milk. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden crispy. Serve warm.
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