It was just a couple years ago that I transitioned from eating romaine lettuce to darker leafy greens. I started small by buying a bag of mixed greens at the store and then throwing in a handful to my light green, crispy salads to get used to the taste. As I’m sure you might have guessed, I eventually started eating dark greens only. Baby spinach became my go-to green because it’s so easy to toss into everything, such as smoothies, pasta, omelettes and sometimes even oatmeal.
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The first time I was introduced to kale was when my friend Kateri taught me how to make this Kale-Cucumber Smoothie. The big, curly leaves were intimidating initially, but now I just pull them off the stems and don’t worry about keeping things neat and pretty. Baby spinach is still the green that I eat the most, but I make an effort to eat kale because as you can see from the infographic above, it has many nutritional benefits!
Kale chips, anyone? This is probably my favorite way to eat kale, although I don’t make them often because they just aren’t filling. I could consume 500 of these babies and still feel like I haven’t eaten a thing! Therefore, I usually add them on top of brown rice or quinoa to get in a a serving of greens and extra flavor!
Here’s how to make ‘em:
Ellen’s Don’t-You-Dare-Forget-The-Lemon Kale Chips:
-Preheat oven to 400F
-Drizzle a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil over the kale and then “massage” each leaf with your fingers. You do NOT want to overdo it with the olive oil. The “chips” are so thin and soak it right up!
-Squeeze lemon all over the kale leaves like your life depends on it. You cannot have too much lemon—the tangy taste gives it flavor!
-Add ground pepper and sea salt all over
-Cook in oven approx. 7 minutes one side, then flip and 7 minutes on the other.
Eat directly from the bowl, or add to a whole grains mix. Warning: Kale chips do not taste like Doritos. Or even Baked Lays. But I bet you’ll be surprised by how much you like them!
Tell me: Have you made kale chips before? What are your favorite leafy greens and veggies?
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