Food Stats: Kale

Overview:

The word kale originated from Latin and comes from the word “caulis” meaning cabbage.
Kale originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and South-Western Asia and began being cultivated as a formal food item around 2000 BC.
In Ancient Greece, Kale was used to feeding both humans and livestock.
Kale is usually grown from a seed and grows very well in the wintertime.
Kale is a cruciferous veggie and has become popular in the past 5 years due to its nutrient density.

The Look:

Kale has a variety of leafiness and colors. The most common kale types are curly, dinosaur, redbor, and Russian kale.
Curly kale is the most common type of kale with green leaves and ruffles. This is what you would see at your local grocery store or market!
Dinosaur kale is wrinkly in texture but narrow in size. It is a darker green color.
Redbor kale is slightly red in color and ruffled similar to curly kale.
Russian kale is not as popular and ranges in colors from red to green.

Nutrition:

Benefits:

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and its biochemical functions include assisting in the synthesis of collagen, carnitine, and norepinephrine.
Vitamin A promotes eye health, cell differentiation, bone development, and immunity!
Vitamin K promotes healthy blood clotting.
Vitamin B6 is a promoter of healthy brain development.
Calcium plays a large role in healthy bone formation along with nerve transmission and muscle contraction.
Potassium is generally associated with low blood pressure and lowering the chance of stroke.
Copper is an antioxidant and works by quenching or neutralizing free radicals.
Manganese takes part in bone, cartilage, and connective tissue synthesis.

Serving Size

Use & Cooking

Kale is most commonly bought in its raw form at most grocery stores or markets. When picking out kale, avoid yellow-colored or wilted leaves. You want the stalk that you’re picking out to be firm and dark green as well.
Kale holds it’s texture well when placed under heat, but if boiled, loses a lot of its nutrient content. However, if steaming, frying, or microwaving it keeps most of its nutrients.

Storage:

Raw kale is good for about 5-6 days refrigerated and loosely wrapped.
You can purchase raw kale and freeze it to later thaw out. This is commonly used for stews and soups and keeps the longevity of the kale.

Recipes:

Kale can be used for a variety of meals and snacks!
Kale can be laid out in a pan, salted, and baked for kale chips!
You can add or completely substitute kale in any salad for a more crunchy change up! It keeps the caloric value down and adds lots of beneficial nutrients.
Popular in Italy, kale is used in ribollita soup!
You’ll find in the Netherlands, kale is used in a veggie and sausage dish called “stamppot.”
In Portugal, they utilize kale in a soup called “caldo verde.”

References

Gropper, S. A., Smith, J. L., & Groff, J. L. (2018). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (Sixth ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

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