Working on my fitness

I was seriously slacking on my fitness last week!  Now, Monday morning rolls around and I feel like a tub of blubber.  This week, I'm getting back on my game, so expect some healthy posts out of me.  To bump up my vegetables I've been trying to use some different things and greens I've never used before.  Its good experimenting.  Let me share what I've found so far, kale.

I bought a bundle of kale at the grocery.  At the check out line, the lady had to ask me what was in the produce bag to ring it up.  Really?  It occurred to me that if the woman at the grocery store had never even seen Kale then most of us have never cooked with it either.

Even I admit it's kind of intimidating to cook Greens that you have never had before. I only recently started using kale in as many recipes as possible.  Before that, I was just like the grocery check out lady; I couldn't identify it if I had to. 

Let me tell you a little about why you should incorporate kale into your diet.  Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; is also considered to be anti-inflammatory.

It is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium.
Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.  Who couldn't use some anit-cancer properties in their diet, right?

Alright, alright...you get the message and you go buy some.  What to do now?  Wash the leaves up and let them dry well in the sink or on kitchen towel.  There is a thick stalk that runs up the center of the leaf you need to remove before cooking.

To remove, just take your knife and cut along each side of the stalk like so...

Now your cooking...there are tons of recipes online for Kale.  You can see I used it in a my "Chicken less Chicken Tortilla Soup".  I've also used it in place of spinach in some recipes.  Use your imagination. 

Over the weekend I used the bunch that I bought in another dish similar to my "Vino Lo Mein" concoction.  I used kale, broccoli, and red peppers along with the same white wine-lemon sauce as the original recipe. 

I cut the kale into ribbons so it would twirl nicely around my fork with my whole wheat noodles.  Here are some photos along the chopping and stir-fry process of the kale and other vegetables.

Kale is on the right, cut into ribbons.
Other veggies cut into bit size pieces for quick stir-frying.

To retain the most vitamins in Kale, cook it the least amount of time possible.
I cooked the broccoli and red peppers until almost done before adding in kale.

You can see Kale turn a darker hue of green once cooked.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  I would love to hear how others inappropriate it into meals!