Kale is King

Kale is King! One of the most nutrient-dense plant foods around.⁠

Did you know that 1 Cup of Kale provides:

206% DV of Vitamin A

• Loaded with beta-carotene, an antioxidant that the body turns into vitamin A. Vitamin A supports eye and bone health.⁠

684% DV of Vitamin K

• 1 cup of kale contains 7x the RDA of vitamin K, an important nutrient involved in clotting blood.⁠

134% DV Vitamin C

• 1 cup of kale has more vitamin C than an orange. This is important for immune function and antioxidants

This amazing veggie holds up well to being sautéed, baked, and as green in hearty stews. Often people don’t like kale because it is a strong, bitter green. Maybe you’ve had a kale salad before that was more bitter than it was hard to chew. Kale is delightful in a salad; it just needs to be treated properly. And that special treatment comes in the form of a massage.

While it might seem a bit odd to massage your food, you’d be amazed at what a quick five-minute rubdown can do to transform this green from being bitter and tough to turning silky and sweet.

Massaging kale is easy to do. There’s a little prep that needs to happen prior to the massage.

Washing the Kale:

1. Fill a clean sink or a large deep bowl with water.
2. Submerge the leaves of kale in water, swishing them around gently to remove any dirt.
3. Allow kale to soak for a few minutes and swish again.
4. Pour the water out of the bowl and rinse kale under fresh water.
5. Stand kale in a colander or spread a cloth towel on the counter and allow it to dry while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.
6. Once the kale has had a bit of time to dry, get it ready for the massage by cutting out the tough, woody stem (see image below). Now, it’s time for the massage!
7. The best way to massage kale is to drizzle a touch of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt to the chopped kale and massage it with your hands.

Massaging the Kale:

This breaks down the tough fibrous cell wall of the kale. However, if you massage it too much, then it doesn’t hold well for leftovers, so don’t overdo it. If you want to know when your massaging hands have done their trick, take a bite. If it’s still bitter, it could use a little more.

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