That Healthy Green Leaf

Well, that healthy green leaf is kale!  It seems as though Kale is bombarding it's way through the grocery stores and pushing spinach out of the way!  Although, I love spinach, it's best to have variety and try new things when it comes to vegetables.  The first time I tried kale, I made kale chips.  I will eventually post about how easy it is to make kale chips, soon, but for now, I will share my basic sauteed kale recipe that I actually found on Pinterest from here.

Before I go into the details of the recipe, I need to explain how super nutritious kale is:

• Loaded with Vitamins A, C, K
• Low in calories
• Good source of fiber, calcium, and minerals

Benefits of kale:

• Promotes eye health
• Reduces risk of cancer
• Helps fight against cancer
• Promotes bone health
• Reduces risk of heart disease
• Lowers blood cholesterol levels
• Promotes antioxidant activity

More information can be found here.

As for the recipe here are the simple ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 to 3 teaspoons vinegar of any kind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Tip: To make this recipe even easier than it already is, I used packaged, pre-washed kale along with already prepared garlic in a jar.

I deviated somewhat from the original recipe.  I added 1 tablespoon of oil to Dutch oven over medium heat.  I then added kale and cooked it for about 1 to 2 minutes till leaves were bright green.  I then added water and lowered heat to low and cooked covered till leaves were tender.  This took about 10 to 12 minutes.  I then pushed kale to one side of the Dutch oven and poured 1 teaspoon of oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper on the empty side and cooked till I could smell everything.  Then I removed it from the heat, combined and tossed the leaves around in the seasoning.  I then topped it off with balsamic vinegar and sea salt.

Bottom line: This recipe not only tastes amazing and is super easy to make, but it only comes in at 80 calories!  It's a win-win, folks!

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