The Food Bandwagon

You know how certain foods are not only in season, but mysteriously become suddenly "nutritionally trendy?"  These foods drive me crazy.  In the past it's been cranberries, acai berries, green tea, broccoli, to eat or not to eat eggs, turkey versus chicken, is coffee good or bad for you, etc...  Right now the nutritionists' are all about kale.  Kale, kale, kale.  All the health articles that have been popping up on my screen have been about the nutritional benefits of kale.

This time, I decided that instead of AVOIDING the trend, I'd jump on it.  I've never tried kale.  Sure!  Why not?  Maybe it'll become a new favorite.  Maybe, since there is all this hype, there will be tons of delicious recipes to try that explain how to use kale.  Right?

WRONG!

My kale-tastrophes have included kale chips, kale smoothies, kale in soup, and more smoothies.  I have, to date, found two things to do with kale that were edible.  One was delicious.  The other is meh.  And let me tell you, my bag of kale seems infinite.

But it you're interested in jumping on the food bandwagon, here are my two recipes:

Kale Smoothies


2 cups kale
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
ice

Directions:
This is going to be a thick smoothie.  There is no avoiding that with kale.  You do want to make sure that you remove all the stem pieces, because no matter how long your kale is in the blender, those things will give you a chunky smoothie if you don't avoid them.

Blend the kale first.  Then add all the other ingredients.  For a more delicious, colder beverage, freeze your banana ahead of time.

This does NOT keep overnight.  No, of COURSE I'm not speaking from experience.  *pull out cup, uncover, sip, gag*


Potato & Kale Soup
(I'll come up with a more creative name for this later. :P)

1 bag fingerling potatoes (or 3 large potatoes cut up)
2 baked and cubed chicken breasts
1 can garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas)
1 can black beans
2 cups kale
1 packet onion soup powder
water or chicken stock
garlic & pepper to taste

Directions:
Throw things in crock pot until your potatoes are soft.  Add as much water or broth as your prefer (I like my soups heartier, so I do this sparingly).  Add the kale during the last hour or two of cooking.  Eat, enjoy!


P.S.  It's the soup that is delicious.