Easy Kale

As far as veggies go, kale is considered one of the most nutrient dense vegetables of all. Sometimes people don't care for it because it can be hard and chewy, but it's a shame because that is something that can be remedied. I find that if the kale is massaged and chopped into small pieces, it helps to break down the toughness and it actually becomes a delight to use it in a variety of dishes. Here are my step by step instructions for cooking up kale. 

STEP 1: Remove the stems
I've been purchasing organic kale (Whole Foods sells fresh organic green kale by the bunch). This is enough for 4+ nice sized servings. There are packages of fresh or frozen organic kale that you can purchase in the store, but I find these often have been chopped with the stems intact. It's the stem that seems to be the offensive part and picking the leaves off the stem once they have been chopped is too much work.
So the first step in preparing the bulk kale is to strip the leaves off the stem. Hold the stem at the end and run your fingers up toward the top of the stalk (if you have kids who like to help, this is a great task for them!). The leaves will rip right off leaving you with soft and supple leaves. 

2: MASSAGE THE KALE
I like to wash my kale in a salad spinner so you can do that now. As the water is filling up in the spinner, massage the kale. Do this for a minute or so to break down the fibers. Then try to get the kale as dry as possible. 

3. CHOP THE KALE
Next, take a big knife and randomly chop the kale into small pieces. From here the kale is ready for a nice RAW KALE SALAD or it can be cooked.


COOKED KALE
1 T coconut oil
1 organic onion
1 bunch of kale, destemmed, massaged, and chopped
salt & pepper

In a large pan, melt enough coconut oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
Sauté some chopped organic yellow onion for a few minutes and then put all the kale into the pan (or however much or pan can hold. The kale will cook down a bit so you can add kale as room becomes available in the pan. 
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And there you have it. You can add some salt and pepper or any other seasoning you might like. I find that a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper is just the ticket. 
Kale can be stored cooked in the fridge for a few days (if it lasts that long). You can add it to anything including soups, eggs, other veggies...

KALE SALAD
Check out my raw Kale Salad here.

Bunch of organic kale

Strip the leaves from the stems and wash in a salad spinner.

Chop the kale into small randomly sized pieces.

Sauté the kale in coconut or red palm oil with onion and your choice of spices.