Posts Tagged ‘kale’

Mean Green Machine Smoothie

Mean Green Machine Smoothie

This smoothie is full of antioxidant rich foods like greens, berries, kiwi, and flax, making it a powerful and flavorful way to start the day. Kids love the unusual color.

Makes 4 servings

10 oz of frozen mixed berries (or fresh organic berries)
2 green kale leaves, washed and chopped
1 and 1/2 cups apple juice or filtered water
1 mango, peeled and cubed
1 kiwi peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

This recipe was provided by Tiffany Washko a mom trying to live a more natural family life, for health and for the planet. In addition to her website (click her name), you should also visit Nature Moms Blog.

Vincent’s Kale Salad 3.0

Ingredients:

• 1 large or two small bunches kale
• juice of one lime
• 2 Pinches of Celtic Sea salt
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons of Gold’s Horseradish
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 2 teaspoons of ginger powder
• 1/4 cup of Raw Organic Agave
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Tomato

Directions:
1. Wash and tear the kale into bite-sizes pieces (consider pulsing briefly in your food processor for really small pieces)

2. Slice up the carrot into smaller pieces. Place the garlic cloves and carrot pieces into the food processor until they are finely chopped.

3. Pour lime juice, ¼ cup of Olive Oil, ¼ cup of Agave, Slice 1 Red Onion, 2 teaspoons of horseradish and toss sea salt on Kale in the bowl.

4. Add ginger, chopped carrots, garlic to the Kale in the bowl and massage until kale wilts. Add one sliced Tomato and serve.

This recipe was submitted by Vincent Shelton, of Baltimore, Maryland. Vincent is the organizer behind the Baltimore Raw Food Tribe, a Meetup.com group that gets together to explore raw foods through informal potluck dinners and various social events. Learn how to submit your recipe here.

Kale, Carrot & Flax Fruit Smoothie

Kale, Carrot, and Flax Fruit Smoothie

This is a recipe for a delicious smoothie that anyone can enjoy (no matter how young or young at heart)

• 1 cup homemade almond milk*
• 1 cup water
• 2 medium Kale leaves
• A handful of carrots
• 8 fresh strawberries
• 1 cup frozen berries (blueberry, raspberry, and marionberry)
• 1/4 cranberries
• One half of a banana
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground flax seeds**

*If you don’t want to make the almond milk yourself, you can purchase it from your local health food store. It will not be 100% raw, but it will still be 100% delicious!

**Just in case you don’t have the equipment to ground your own flax seeds, you can also purchase them finely ground at your local health food store.

Mix up in a blender and it makes enough for the whole family (or for you to store in your fridge for the next 2-3 days and have on the go). The smoothie is a muddy orange color with flecks of green from the kale and flecks of red from the cranberries. You can sweeten if needed with agave nectar. Homemade almond milk is used to ensure that this recipe is completely raw but store bought almond milk will work too. Enjoy!

This recipe was provided by Tiffany Washko,  a mom trying to live a more natural family life, for health and for the planet. In addition to her website (click her name), you should also visit Nature Moms Blog.

Tom’s Fruity Medicine Chest Smoothie

We think this green smoothie is absolutely fabulous! This recipe comes from Tom from Whole Life Nutrition:

Tom makes a large batch of this smoothie nearly every morning. The fruit in it changes according to the seasons. In the summer he uses peaches and nectarines instead of pears and apples. This smoothie has been paramount in the lives of many people we have helped. It can literally change your health in a matter of days and hours. The fruit is a rich source of soluble fiber and a host of vitamins and antioxidants. The greens offer powerful phytochemicals. Cabbage is a potent food that affects many pathways in the body. Ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory. The lemon offers vitamin C and bioflavonoids. And yes, it tastes great, as many of the people in our cooking classes will tell you. This smoothie makes enough to fill a large high speed blender so divide the recipe in half if you are using a regular blender.

Serves 2 to 4

• 2 apples, cored and cut into chunks
• 2 ripe pears, cored and cut into chunks
• 1 to 2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 to 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 5 kale leaves, rinsed and torn*
• 5 romaine lettuce leaves, spinach leaves, or collard greens, rinsed*
• 1 cup coarsely chopped green cabbage, optional*

Place the apple chunks, pear chunks, water, and lemon juice into the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Then add the ginger, black kale, romaine lettuce, and green cabbage, and blend again until very smooth. Add more water for a thinner smoothie.

*If lettuce leaves are too much for your blender, here are a couple options: (1) place some fruit in first, then lettuce in between followed by more fruit before blending to keep the consistency or (2) consider chopping them up in a food processor first!

You can taste it now and if it is too “lettucy” for you then add another pear and blend again. Add more water for a thinner consistency.

Kale: Green Power!

Introduction:

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we thought we would give you an extra special dose of green by doing a breakdown of kale, a fabulous vegetable you should know more about. Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, who’s siblings include cabbage, collards and Brussels sprouts. Kale leaves provide an earthy flavor with more nutritional value for fewer calories. 1 serving of Kale (1 cup) has only 36 calories, and once you see all the benefits, you’ll know you’re getting a great deal!

Something You Probably Didn’t Know:

Did you know that there are several different varieties of kale? There is curly kale, ornamental kale, and dinosaur kale. The most common version is curly kale, which is what you see in the produce section of your local market. Curly kale has ruffled leaves, its color is deep green, and it has a distinct peppery taste. But there is also ornamental kale, which leaves can vary in color (green, white, or even purple). Ornamental kale has a more mellow flavor and tender texture. Last, but not least, dinosaur kale. Not sure how it got its name, but dinosaur kale is a common title for the kale variety known as Lacinato. It features dark blue green leaves, an embossed texture, and has a sweeter delicate flavor.

Health Benefits:

Are you sure you’re going to be able to keep up with all these amazing benefits? We hope so!

• Kale is rich in a flavonoid called maempferol, which research studies suggest lower the risk of ovarian cancer in women.
• Over the past few years, research has shown that many phytonutrients work as antioxidants to disarm free radicals before they can damage DNA, cell membranes and fat containing molecules. Well, the phytonutrients in kale (as well as in other green leafy vegetables) work on a much deeper level. They actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification, which is the cleansing process through which our bodies eliminate harmful compounds.
• Kale is also well known for its carotenoids, especially lutein and zeaxanthin, which prevent damage to the eyes from exposure to ultraviolet light.
• Kale supplies 88.8% of your daily value (DV) of vitamin C in just one serving. Vitamin C is vital for the proper function of a healthy immune system, and it’s great for preventing colds. So, your body will thank you!
• Kale is also an excellent resource for vitamin A and vitamin K
• 1 serving of kale supplies you with approximately 10% of your DV for calcium. All that without having to drink a glass of milk!
• 1 cup of kale also provides 27% DV of manganese. This mineral helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrates. Manganese also promotes strong bones, maintains healthy nerves, and promotes optimal function of your thyroid gland.

How to Get in on These Goods:

To get the most benefits from kale, choose locally grown and organic varieties when possible. It has been shown that the phythonutrient levels are higher in organic kale verses that which was conventionally grown.

Adding kale to any green juice recipe will automatically make it go from green to super green, in color and also in nutrional value. If you are not yet adjusted to the flavor of kale, we recommend adding a little to start you off and then increasing the quantity as you become more comfortable. You can also easily mask the strong flavor of kale by making it the green component to your smoothies. If you do not have a high speed blender, use a food processor to adequately chop up the leaves before combining them with the fruit in your blender.

We hope this information helps you to embrace the true nature of wearing “green” for St. Patrick’s day. Honestly, you can say that you are wearing your green inside and out!

Resources:

World’s Heahthiest Foods: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

Raw Food Myth: Where’s the Protein?

Comment: What? You’re eating only raw foods now? Well, what are you going to do about protein? You need meat for that. A raw vegan diet doesn’t have enough protein in it, especially if you are physically active and like to workout.

Response:Yes, protein is essential for the structure and function of every cell in our body. It plays an important role in the functioning of our organs and muscle tissues, along with enzyme production. Amino acids are the building blocks for proteins. It is a common misconception that you can only get proteins (or enough proteins to function) from animal products. In fact, plant proteins are more than compatible with our bodies and provide the essentials that our cells need to perform daily tasks.

The World Health Organization states that humans need about 5% of their daily calorie intake to come from protein. This constitutes a healthy diet. Actually, by being a raw food enthusiast, you have the option to get your daily dose of protein from a variety of sources. So no longer do you have to think “gee, I should make sure I have chicken tonight so I get my protein.” Now you have multiple ways to get your protein, from your breakfast smoothie to your afternoon snack. On average, fruits have roughly 5% of their calories from protein and vegetables (especially green leafy ones) have 20-50% of their calories from protein.

Here are some great plant based foods that are packed with the proteins your body needs to make things happen:

• Dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach (great in salads, in juices and green smoothies)
• Fruits such as peaches, avocados (great in smoothies), and raisins (consider making a raw trail mix)
• Nuts such as Brazil nuts, pecans, pistachios (good for snacking)

So go forth and get your protein in more creative ways than ever before! Take that!!!!!

Raw Food Myth: Calcium Supplements

Comment: What? You’re going raw? I only have one word for you “supplements.” How else are you going to get the nutrients you need to be healthy? I mean seriously, what about calcium?

Response: We all know that calcium should be a very important part of any diet. We have to take care of our bones and teeth. A common myth is that the only place to get calcium is from diary products, particularly milk. So let’s arm ourselves right now with some useful tidbits of information about calcium and raw foods. This way when someone asks, you’ll know exactly what to say.

Calcium is more than present in the raw food lifestyle. Here’s where you can get it:

• Nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds to name a few)
• Fruits (oranges, limes, figs and berries)
• Veggies (such as kale, which is great in juices, dandelion greens, kelp, parsley, and watercress)

Looks like you could get a good dose of calcium by plugging some of these ingredients into a meal or delicious smoothie! Take that!!!