My Kale Obsession

If Popeye was still around he'd trade in his Spinach for Kale, hands down because Kale is the new king (if you ask me). I have recently become obsessed with it and use it at least 3 times a day in everything you could imagine. What's also pretty cool is that my 6 year old daughter also loves it, but even if she didn't I could hide it quite well and will tell you how in case you have picky eaters.
In my researching it's benefits I thought I would share some of the greatness to try and persuade you to love it as much as I do! Kale is one of the stand out vegetables, it packs a ton of Fiber (1 serving alone provides 10% of your daily intake of it), and it's daily value of Vitamins A, K, & C are off the charts. It has a huge cholesterol lowering ability (more if steamed, but good raw as well) and has been shown to lower the risk of at least 5 types of Cancer (bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate). It is also recognized as providing support for the body's detoxifying system-even at a genetic level. Researchers have now identified over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, these flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits that give kale a leading role in maintaining both inflammation and oxidative stress. Along with all these nutrients come the great side effects of being a fantastic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, so eat your little heart out!
Now for the fun part...my suggestions for consumption:

• Put a handful in ANY type of smoothie - this is a great way to hide from your picky eaters
• Put at least a handful or a few leafs in any juice you are making
• Steam for 5 minutes and eat plain or with a little vinegar
• Put it in any soup, stew or chili you are making
• Eat raw in salads
• Chop it up and put in mashed potatoes
• Throw it on the grill with some salt and pepper
• Saute alone or with other vegies as a nice side dish or addition to salad.