Kale - The Best of the Bunch

Popular varieties

• Curly Kale (Scotch Kale): Dark green leaves, a bit tough, defined stock and a nice peppery, pungent bitter deliciousness.
• Dino Kale (known also as Lacinato Kale): very dark green with an embossed texture, slightly less stocky, a bit sweeter and more delicate than the Curly Kale.
• Russian Kale (known also as Purple Kale): broader and deeply serrated leaves. More delicate and mellow flavored kale. Easy to eat raw, or very quick blanching or steaming.
• Ornamental Kale: like a bouquet of flowers, ruffled edged violet and cream leaves. Mostly used as garnish.

Health Benefits

• Kale is an excellent source of Carotenes, Vitamin C, B6, and manganese.
• 1 cup of Kale supplies more than 70% of the RDA of vitamin C with only 20 calories!
• It is a great source of fiber, minerals including copper, iron and calcium, and a good source of B1, B2 and E Vitamins.
• Kale is warming, eases lung congestion, benefits the stomach, and is a specific healer for the liver and the immune system. Good for the eyes (contains Lutein).
• Ayurveda: This super green reduces Pitta and Kapha

Preparation tips

Kale Salad

Yield: 4 portions / Prep time: 10 minutes

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup NamaShoyo (or any other good quality organic soy sauce, including Braggs) NamaShoyo is unpasteurized, and raw, so better flavor and more health benefits.

Procedure

• Whisk dressing well.
• Massage the dressing into the leaves till they are completely coated ( and look bright green). The longer the kale sits with the dressing on it, the softer it gets, so sometimes I make it a few hours ahead. It also means that it will still be great the next day.
• I love adding nuts and seeds, like pumpkin and sesame (I sprout them first, but not a must). You can also slice some daikon radish thinly into the mix.
• Play and enjoy!

Make veggie juices and shakes

• 4 large leaves of Kale and stock rough chopped • 1-2 Cups apple juice (to get the blender turning)
• Combine with veggies like daikon and radishes for a pungent taste
• Try a small amount of beets for a sweeter juice
• Throw in some berries for a summer feast

More Ideas

• Lightly sauté kale leaves in olive oil with some fresh garlic. Add a bit of lemon juice or tamari (soy sauce) before serving.
• Braise Kale. Remove from heat and add balsamic vinegar, apples, walnuts and goat cheese. • Use it as a Pizza topping. Yummy and looks great on red sauce or white cheese.
• Add it to your favorite bean soup or stew (add stock first and leaves at the end)
• Try it in your tomato pasta sauce or as a layer in your lasagna

More healthy and nutritious salad recipes like this can be found in The Doron Yoga Cookbook, featuring many joyful recipes for hungry yogis, available to download here.

Enjoy your cooking journey and taste the bliss!