Incorporating foods like kale into your diet is so important because you receive an array of beneficial nutrients (like Vitamins A, C, and especially K) that will assist with the overall proper functioning of your body. Yes, kale does have a bit of a strong flavor, and I’ve heard people complain about the taste of kale on more than one occasion. If that’s stopping you from incorporating it into your diet more, then I’m hoping I can help out a bit. I’d say my preferred way to eat raw kale, which happens to be really convenient for snacking, would be these kale chips (seriously the best!!). But they do take some time to make, which may be time you do not have on a regular basis. So I’d like to present to you one of my favorite quick and easy ways to eat raw kale:
Marinated Kale Salads.
Marinading is not intimidating in the slightest. My go-to marinade consists of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and garlic and is as simple as mixing those ingredients with the kale and letting it sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning you can add any additional ingredients to jazz up your salad, and wah-la! you are on your way to consuming-with gusto I hope-a dish comprised of some of the most nutrient-dense greens out there and other ingredients that promote detoxification (garlic) and cleansing of the body (lemon).
This cucumber marinated kale salad I had with dinner last night and is a variation of this marinated kale salad I made a little while ago. What I really want to show is that there are many different possible combinations of ingredients you can use starting with the marinated kale as a base. I LOVE the avocado-mango combo used in the one above, but since I didn’t have those ingredients at home, I decided to go with some green onion (which I added to the marinade), cucumber, and hemp seeds in addition to the dried cranberries!
- 1 bunch kale, cut into small pieces
- 1.5 tbsp. olive oil
- juice from ½ lemon
- 1 glove garlic, pressed
- 2 green onions, diced
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1-2 tbsp. hemp seeds
- 2 small handfuls of dried cranberries (apple juice sweetened if you can find them)
- Mix kale, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and the green onions and place in a sealed container.
- Place in the fridge, and let marinade overnight.
- Add and mix in the cucumber, hemp seeds and dried cranberries before serving.
What fruits/veggies/protein would you add to your marinated kale salad?
