23 Kale Recipes So Good You'll Never Go a Vegetable-less Day (2024)

FAQs

What is the most delicious way to eat kale? ›

Raw kale can be hard to digest. Kale's fibrous cell walls may prevent your body from absorbing nutrients, but cooking kale can reduce its antioxidant content. Nutrition experts say steaming kale is a good way to make it easier to digest while preserving most of the nutrients.

Older Chinese kale has wider and larger stalks that tend to be more fibrous with bitterer leaves. Unlike other kale varieties, Chinese kale is best enjoyed cooked — boiled, steamed, sauteed, or stir-fried.

Kale is a nutritious food rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene. It also contains nutrients that can support eye health, weight management, heart health, and more. Loaded with important micronutrients and antioxidants, kale is one of the most nutritious leafy greens available.

Kale offers an abundance of nutrients that support heart health, including potassium, fiber, folate, and calcium. As part of a heart-healthy diet, kale can reduce the risk of heart disease by helping lower LDL cholesterol, or “bad cholesterol”.

"However, if you are looking for a food that is particularly high in fiber, vitamins K and C, kale is a better choice," she said. "If you are looking for a food that is particularly high in folate and a source of iron, and vitamins A and E, then spinach is a better choice."

Raw kale is fibrous, bitter and can be tough to chew. Blanching it helps soften its fibers and bitterness while making it easier to chew.

In more severe cases, your body can experience swelling of the thyroid gland which causes a goiter. If you are at high risk of developing kidney stones, then raw kale is a food that you need to avoid. The reason is, kale leaves contain a fairly high amount of oxalate.

RELATED: Believe It Or Not, Kale Actually Lives Up To All Of Its Hype—Here's Why. Manganiello says you can eat kale every day, just don't overdo it. She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients.

It is also found in many skincare products today because of its impact on the skin. Kale works to promote collagen production and reduces dark spots. It can also help treat hyperpigmentation, inflammation, and promote more skin production.

What is the cousin to kale? ›

Kale has the buzz. But collard greens — kale's first cousin — are still uncommon. Standard fare in the American South, in the rest of the nation many are unfamiliar with these large, flat, oval, white-ribbed leaves. Yet they are nutritional superstars equal to if not surpassing kale!

And the winner is …. watercress, with a score of 100 (actually higher but the researcher capped the scores at 100.) It's not just easy to add a handful to that salad (and you'll get the most from its nutrients if you eat it raw), it's easy and quick to grow yourself so you've always got some fresh leaves on hand.

Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate, fiber, carotenoids and manganese it contains. One cup of raw kale has just 20 calories.

Sauté It. Cooking kale in a frying pan over medium-high to high heat with a bit of butter or oil is a quick and tasty way to serve it. Season it with salt and pepper or add garlic or sweet or chile peppers for extra flavor.

Kale doesn't need to be cooked to be enjoyed. If you slice it into fine ribbons or tear it into small bits, it makes a great salad.