Kale and Nuts

Thanks once again for checking back into my blog! It is nice to know that someone is reading about my experiences and learning about new foods along with me. For the third week of my challenge, the two super foods I have decided to eat are kale and nuts. These two foods made for an interesting and somewhat challenging week. Keep reading to find out why!

My first super food I tried this week was kale, which is one of the healthiest dark, leafy green vegetables. It is packed with fiber, calcium, iron and Vitamins A, C, and K, keeping one healthier and feeling more energized. Also, because of the high amount of fiber, kale will keep one fuller longer. According to Health Magazine, kale contains “types of phytonutrients that appear to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian” (Super foods You Need Now). It can be eaten in many different ways such as raw, sautéed, steamed or baked and is in season in the fall and winter. So far, kale is the super food that has provided me with the most challenges. First, they do not sell it in my cafeteria, so rather than having it provided for me I had to take a trip to Safeway and purchase it. Second, I had never tried kale before, so I had to research the ways to consume it. There were several different recipes that I read about and that seemed easy enough to make on my own in the kitchen in my dorm.   

The first recipe I tried was for “Kale Chips” from Kale & Chocolate, a website containing advice and recipes on how to easily have a healthy lifestyle. These were a perfect snack and very easy to make. The only ingredients I needed were kale, olive oil, vinegar and sea salt. First, I had to heat the oven to 350 degrees and cut the kale into pieces. Then I had to mix the olive oil, vinegar and sea salt in a bowl and dip the kale pieces until the leaves were covered. Then I placed them on a cooking sheet and let them bake for around fifteen minutes. They were a healthy, crunchy snack and a great way for me to first try the vegetable. Then for dinner, I used another recipe from Kale & Chocolate to make some friends and myself a kale salad. I liked this recipe because it was simple and quick to make. The ingredients I needed were kale, orange, red bell pepper, sunflower seeds, Dijon mustard, orange juice, black pepper, olive oil and vinegar. I combined all the foods into one bowl and then in another bowl whisked together the Dijon mustard, orange juice, vinegar and pepper for the dressing. Everyone really enjoyed this salad because it had a ton of flavor and taste to it. It wasn’t too dry or boring and all of the ingredients contained health benefits. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the several ways to eat kale and incorporate it into my meals. It was very different, but I like challenging myself with something new.

Kale Chips Ingredients

6 cups Kale, about 2 bunches, rinsed with stems removed


1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar


2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt to taste



Variation
:

Add a drop of sesame oil and sesame seeds for a slightly different flavor.

Colorful Kale Salad Ingredients

1 bunch Lacinato (a.k.a. dinosaur) kale, thick stems removed and leaves thinly sliced


4 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1 small head, quartered and cored) 


2 navel oranges or clementines, peeled and segmented 


1 small red onion, thinly sliced 


1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced 


⅓ cup sunflower seeds 


¼ cup Dijon mustard


¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice


¼ cup balsamic vinegar 


2 tablespoons olive oil 


½ teaspoon ground black pepper

            The second super food that I tried this week was nuts. Many people assume that nuts are unhealthy and too fatty to eat. However, I learned that walnuts, almonds, and cashews are actually very beneficial to one’s health and provide nutrients that keep us healthy and strong. Walnuts are a good source of fiber and protein and contain antioxidants such as Vitamin E. According to Health Castle, a website containing nutrition advice from dietitians, “walnuts have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids compared to other nuts” (“5 Super Foods”). These omega-3 acids are extremely good and important for our health. Also, like many of the other super foods I have learned about so far, “walnuts are known to help heart disease and reduce cholesterol” (Superfoods Rx). Almonds and Cashews are also beneficial to ones health. According to Seattle Organic Restuarants, a website about organic food, “almonds contain antioxidants, fiber and are also known to prevent colon cancer and cashews are full of nutrients that particularly help our bones and energize the body.” I also went to Safeway to purchase these because I wanted to make sure they were not flavored or salted. I was able to buy them in a small container and snack on them when I became hungry throughout the day. Eating too many nuts is not very healthy; however, just a handful or two a day and I found myself growing less hungry and much more energized. These nuts did not make me feel overly full or too tired to do my everyday routine. They are the perfect snack that I substituted for the crackers I usually eat that never really fill me up or keep me full throughout the afternoon. Eating just a palm full of nuts when I grew hungry helped me from snacking on other unhealthy foods and gave me the energy to continue on with my day.

            I hope you were able to learn more about new super foods and take away recipes that you will enjoy. I am glad that my friends and I tried kale even though it was something very different from what we would normally eat. I have really liked experimenting with foods and learning about the benefits they have on my body. I have continued to eat the blueberries, mushrooms, quinoa and dark chocolate in the past weeks as well. Keeping these super foods a part of my diet is important to me because of the benefits. Check back again next week to learn about more super foods and ways to try eating them.