I was frustrated at school the other day when the line was super long to heat up my
lunch in the microwave. So I decided that I would no longer bring something that needed to be heated. I'm the queen of looking the fridge and cupboard and came up with a kale avocado sandwich. Not new. Not original per se. But it reminds us to be creative with what we have in the kitchen.
Chop the kale (or cut up with scissors like I did). About 2 handfuls. Put in a bowl. Add 1 avocado and about a teaspoon of lime juice. Mix and mash it up. Add a few dashes of turmeric, smoked paprika and if you want some heat, a little chipotle pepper. Mix some more. Now it is ready as a dip or spread. I put it on some fresh ciabatta and sprinkled some chia seeds on it. Quick and easy lunch or snack.
I know it is not healthy. I know there are chemicals in that "cheese". But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So, I sort of make it according to the directions on the box. BUT to help with the protein, I add a 1/4 cup dried red lentils along with the noodles during the boiling process. Both the noodles and lentils are done within 7 minutes. Meanwhile, either drain a can of diced tomatoes or chop up about 4 plum tomatoes. Five minutes into the boiling process, add a couple of handfuls of chopped kale. Feel free to use spinach too. At 7 minutes, drain in all saving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Returning the noodles to the pot, add the "cheese" to the noodles/kale/lentil mixture, a tsp of butter and the 2Tbsp milk and 2Tbsp reserved liquid (or all milk or all liquid) and stir. Once it's as well blended as it'll get, add the tomatoes. Put on low heat and cook through until the tomatoes are warm. Top with some fresh cheese. You've added protein and vitamins to an otherwise not very nutritious meal. Bon appetite!
Healthy snacks are
important to have and when they are easy to make it is even better.
Toasty Roasty Kale fits in perfectly. The easy part comes
later. Let's talk about the healthy aspects of kale. I know, I
know. You are thinking - "Isn't that what they put in salad bars to
make them look pretty?" And the answer is YES!!! Kale contains
substantial amounts of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of nutrition
essentials. In one cup alone you have:
About
20% of fiber (diet and digestion)
Over
1300% of vitamin K (anti-inflammatory)
10%of
omega-3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory)
192%
vitamin A (antioxidant)
88%
vitamin C (antioxidant, immunity)
Plus
so much more.
Kale is consumed all
over the world. There are different varieties.
Curly
leaved (Scots Kale)
Plain
leaved
Rape Kale
Leaf
and spear (a cross between curly leaved and plain leaved Kale)
Cavolo
nero (also known as black cabbage, Tuscan Cabbage, Tuscan Kale, Lacinato and dinosaur Kale)*
Now, that you know the
benefits of kale. What the heck do you do with it?
KALE CHIPS! Unfortunately, Many of the kale chips you
will find in the stores are very high in fat. They use a lot of oil in
the baking and/or frying. There is absolutely no need for the
fat. In our Toasty Roasty Kale, there are just trace amounts of fat
from the spray. It keeps it very healthy and lower in fat than the store
made ones.
Toasty Roasty Kale
1 bunch of Kale,
washed, ribs cut out, and in 1" pieces
Juice of half a lemon
Olive Oil sprayer
Salt
Pepper
Seasonings of choice
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place the kale on
a sheet pan. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon, spray with olive oil,
sprinkle with salt and pepper plus any other spices you may chose to use.
Toss right on the pan. Level out. Put in oven for 8-10 minutes.
Check and cook to desired crispiness.
With the Toasty
Roasty Kale you can add any variety of spices to it ~ salt, pepper,
paprika, garlic powder or salt, onion powder or salt, chili powder, cayenne,
whatever floats your boat. Remember, part of the fun of cooking is
experimenting!! And you can start enjoying them from start to finish in
about 15 minutes.
Watch the video, print the recipe, prepare any one of the dishes and you'll
find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"
I know it is not healthy. I know there are chemicals in that "cheese". But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So, I sort of make it according to the directions on the box. BUT to help with the protein, I add a 1/4 cup dried red lentils along with the noodles during the boiling process. Both the noodles and lentils are done within 7 minutes. Meanwhile, either drain a can of diced tomatoes or chop up about 4 plum tomatoes. Five minutes into the boiling process, add a couple of handfuls of chopped kale. Feel free to use spinach too. At 7 minutes, drain in all saving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Returning the noodles to the pot, add the "cheese" to the noodles/kale/lentil mixture, a tsp of butter and the 2Tbsp milk and 2Tbsp reserved liquid (or all milk or all liquid) and stir. Once it's as well blended as it'll get, add the tomatoes. Put on low heat and cook through until the tomatoes are warm. Top with some fresh cheese. You've added protein and vitamins to an otherwise not very nutritious meal. Bon appetite!
