Kale is popping up on every restaurant menu, as “the” essential ingredient in smoothies, and, as the weather warms, in school and community gardens.
A nutritional godsend? Vitamin powerhouse? Should we believe the hype?
You bet, said Lori Purtell, a registered dietician with St. Elizabeth Physicians.
Super food to the rescue
Kale is a “super food. It’s high in fiber, low calories,” said Purtell.
It packs a wealth of vitamins: C, A, K and B6. It has iron and folate. “The calcium in kale is absorbed better than the calcium in milk. So, if you are pregnant or looking for alternative sources”. or if your children don’t like milk, go ahead and have a kale salad,” said Purtell.
“It’s best in smoothies,” said Purtell, where it delivers an unadulterated power punch of nutrition.
Kale allows the body to absorb minerals including calcium and iron because it doesn’t not have the oxalic acid that spinach has, according to Purtell, who clearly knows her stuff.
Let’s keep it simple
“As far as vegetables go, it’s pretty easy to work into things,” said Purtell.
Here’s how:
- Add fresh, washed kale to stews, lentil soup, or whatever you are cooking
- Saute it (lightly, very lightly) and put it in dishes like lasagna
- Remove the stems to make cooking time more consistent
- Don’t boil it ““ you are just kissing the nutrients goodbye
- Choose small, tender leaves for salad ““ try the Red Russian or curly varieties
- Choose pretty leaves, really! “The more colorful, the more nutrients it has, the more colorful the leaf, the more nutrients.”
- Store wrapped in a damp paper towel and placed in a slightly unsealed plastic bag in the refrigerator
- Use it soon ““ every day it sits in the refrigerator, it loses nutrients
Keep kale fresh
If you ever have tossed out browning leaves of kale, bought with the best intentions but left to linger, we have a workaround.
Keep a stash of kale in your freezer, ready to use. As soon as you bring it home, prep it:
- Trim off the stems and wash the leaves
- Blanch it by dropping in rapidly-boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds
- Using a slotted spoon, dunk it in ice water to stop the cooking process
- Dry on a paper towel
- Store in airtight bags in small portions of a handful or two that can just be added to family favorite dishes
The vitamin C and vitamin A in kale are antioxidants that clear up the cells that can damage healthy cells in your body, Purtell explained. People with low levels of vitamin C also tend toward inflammation so replacing that water-soluble vitamin daily is important because the body doesn’t store it but instead it is lost in your urine.
The serious caveat
If you are a cardiac patient, kale provides important vitamins and helps with fiber. But, if you are taking warfarin (Coumadin) or any blood thinner, talk to your doctor before working kale into your diet. The high vitamin K content in the vegetable seriously interferes with the medication.
