Plant-based feature of the week: Tuscan Kale! Tuscan kale has earned its right to be the superstar it has become. It’s a versatile leafy green packed with nutrients- it makes for great salads, sautés, and side dishes.
Let’s get into why kale is life. It’s a powerhouse full of vitamin K, A, and C, folate, B vitamins, copper, manganese, and fiber. Just one cup provides your daily value for vitamin A and vitamin C for the day. It is also an awesome source of many antioxidants, which help protect our bodies from free radical damage. Raw kale can be a bit of a mouthful. The texture is tough and fibrous, and comes with a kick of bitterness. Massaging dressing into the kale will soften the kale and decrease some of that bitterness.
You can buy whole kale, cut off the stems and chop into bite sized leaves or you can buy prepackaged kale without the stem, ready to eat. Purchasing whole leaf kale is typically most cost-effective, but if convenience is your game, there is no problem with buying pre-chopped kale. There are 4 major types of kale: Curly, Tuscan, Redbor, and Russian (there’s tons of others too, though!). Curly kale is probably one of the most common versions that can be found in the grocery store. Tuscan kale (our favorite!) is sometimes called dinosaur kale. It has large, dark leaves that are flatter than the curly kale leaves. Redbor is usually a red to purple color kale often used as a garnish for the color. Russian kale has large fringed leaves that may be a bit sweeter than the other varieties.
Try kale out in one of our many kale recipes:
- Roasted Garlic Massaged Kale Salad
- Roasted Kale Butternut Squash
- Kale Skillet Omelette
- Kale Guacamole
We put kale almost anywhere! What are your favorite kale uses? Drop us a comment below!
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