A New Veggie, Hail for Kale, Hale and Hearty!

Last week my husband suddenly announced:

"I bought kale, and if it's good I'll buy it again."

That was my challenge; make kale for the first time. I had a vague memory of it being extremely healthy.

What's New and Beneficial About Kale

• Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.

• Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.

• Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

• Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

I guess it is.

Kale Nutrition Facts

In just one cup of chopped kale, you’ll find: (2)

• Vitamin K (684% recommended daily value)
• Vitamin A (206%)
• Vitamin C (134%)
• Manganese (26%)
• Copper (10%)
• Calcium (9%)
• Potassium (9%)
• Vitamin B6 (9%)
• Iron (6%)
• Magnesium (6%)
• Folate (5%)
• Riboflavin (5%)
• Thiamin (5%)
• Phosphorus (4%)
• Protein (4%)
• Niacin (3%)
• Zinc (2%)
• Pantothenic Acid (1%)
• Selenium (1%)
• Sodium (1%)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (121 mg)
• Omega-6 fatty acids (92.4 mg)

I decided to make the kale with the rest of the vegetables, though add them at the end, so they wouldn't overcook.

First I had to clean the leaves which were terribly dirty. I soaked them in salted water and then kept on rinsing and rinsing. All the while the vegetables, onions, garlic, zucchini and carrots were cooking away.  They were in a good quality covered pan with just a bit of oil. When the vegetables were ready, I added the cut and cleaned kale.

It was delicious, a nice rich taste. All the guests seemed to like it, too.