Spring Into Healthier Eating: Crazy About Kale Book Review

Are you crazy about kale? I am! And so is blogger and cookbook author Hallie Klecker from Daily Bites. Hallie’s newest creating, Crazy About Kale, is a super affordable ebook that highlights 40 gluten-free, dairy-free kale recipes, including smoothies and juices, salads, side dishes, main dishes, and snacks and sweet treats. And while not all of the recipes are vegan, most are, and the ones that are not, are easily veganized. You should definitely check this out!

After picking up some red Russian kale a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to dig into this book and whip up some tasty new dishes. Red Russian kale is new to me; although we grew some last summer, it didn’t quite grow enough to eat. I wasn’t sure how I’d like it, but after ready Hallie’s review of each of the different varieties of kale (curly, lacinato, and red Russian), and spying some yummy recipes featuring my new find (Although, as Hallie pointed out, the varieties are interchangeable and are really a matter of preference.), I was ready to get creative in the kitchen.

The New Fashioned Potato Salad was super yum (I didn’t include the raisins or currents because sweet and savor together doesn’t do it for me.); the Spanish Style Braised Kale is beckoning to be made, and I can’t wait to whip up a batch of Kale in Almond Cream Sauce. And, the next time I break out the juicer, the Lean & Green Lemonade is at the top of my to-make list!

There are lots more recipes I can’t wait to dig into in Crazy About Kale, and if all of the kale plants we have started actually grow this year, I’ll be able to eat my way through this cookbook 4 our 5 times this summer I can’t wait!

Disclosure: Hallie provided a copy of Crazy About Kale for my review, but the opinions expressed are all mine

 

Juice Fast Fail

I’ve been wanting to do a juice fast forever. Seriously. As long as I can remember, I’ve been wanting to give this a try. So, with a long weekend ahead of me, I planned to begin juicing on Saturday and continue through Sunday. But, we’ve been car shopping, and our Friday adventures led us to Whole Foods, which led me to a fridge full of left-overs that had to be eaten on Saturday, so juicing got pushed back to Sunday. OK. No problem.

Sunday began with a warm, sunny morning – perfect for the orange and cranberry juice I had planned. After a heavy weights workout, I got my juice on.

This juice was 5 pounds of juicing oranges and 1 pound of cranberries. It made about 50 ounces of juice, which I drank throughout the morning.

After breakfast (and second breakfast) and some computer work, Mr M and I took a walk to and through our local park. It was a beautiful day for a couple mile walk. Except…Mr M and I walk at two completely different paces! Everyone I know, except for my husband, complains about how slow I walk. Literally everyone. In sixth grade, my nickname was Turtle. Seriously. But, Mr M walks even slower than I do! I didn’t know this was even possible. After arguing about walking speed for the fist mile, I finally grabbed his hand and drug him around the first half of the second mile. I wonder what the other walkers thought – ha ha!

After a brisk walk (Well, my walk was brisk.), I juiced my lunch.

This time, I juiced six or so stalks of kale (stems and leaves) that I cut from our dwindling garden (Side note: It took all summer to grow the kale. Is that normal?!), 2 cucumbers, 4 ribs of celery, 5 small, green apples, and two lemons (peeled). It was really good!

This batch also made around 50 or so ounces, which I drank in two batches.

After lunch, we ran some errands, which included going to the grocery store. I wasn’t the least bit tempted by anything at the grocery store, but I kept finding good deals and thinking of meals I wanted to make later in the week, and before I knew it, I was home making a giant arugula salad with tons of celery, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Mmmmm…hemp seeds.

So, I failed. Kind of. My plan was to juice for three days, and I made it through two meals. But, I did figure out my body is happier with some veggies mixed in with the fruits; it’s keeps my blood sugar steadier. I also figured out it’s best for me to get out of the house when I’m juicing. I thought it would be the opposite. Being busy and not surrounded by solid food is a good way to keep my mind off dinner. And snacks. And lunch. And breakfast. And snacks. I really like snacks.

I definitely plan to incorporate more juice into my diet – replacing some of the smoothies with green juice. Typically, I have a smoothie for breakfast and lunch, a fruit snack or two in between, and a giant salad for dinner. I’ve been very happy with that menu, but I think I’d be equally happy with a breakfast smoothie, green juice lunch, and giant salad dinner. And, in a few weeks when I’m on winter break, I’ll try another juice fast. But, I’d like to do a little more research first (I’ve just started researching juice recipes and protocol.), and I think I want to take it one day at a time. I might even do a “lite” fast for a few days  — juice for breakfast and lunch and light food (probably salad) for dinner.

I’d love to hear your experience with juicing!

Tahini Dressing

I’ve eating huge salads almost every night for dinner for months. I can’t get enough! Typically, I dress my salads simply with olive oil (organic, first cold pressed) that I massage into the greens (usually kale) and a few squeezes of lemon juice. But, on a recent road trip to Philadelphia (shout out to Phili!), I ate the most delicious kale salad from a Whole Foods cold bar. So good! I was sure to make a note of the ingredients so I could recreate the dish at home – and that I have, my friends; that I have.

Tahini Salad Dressing

2 TBSP tahini

1 TBSP tamari (low sodium)

1 TBSP lemon juice (juice of about half a lemon)

1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)

Add everything to a small blender cup (I use a Magic Bullet) and blend until well combined and smooth. If mixture is a bit too thick, thin it with some water. Start with a very small amount and work your way up. (My tahini is very runny, so I haven’t needed to add any water.)

Optional add: Nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Assemble your favorite salad greens, add dressing to the greens, and massage dressing into greens until they are wilted. This works great with a sturdy green like kale. Add in your favorite salad mix-ins and toss together.

This amount of dressing makes enough to coat about 4 cups of salad greens, which, for me, is one serving

*Sorry for the lack of photos. Apparently the photos I had saved on my phone looked so good the phone ate them. Ha! Enjoy!!

 

My New Toy

I did it; I bought a Vitamix!

I’ve been wanting, wishing for, and dreaming about owning a Vitamix blender for years and years. So, one lonely Sunday evening while Mr. M was in bed, I ordered one…from QVC. Ha ha ha. That still makes me laugh. I guess it’s not that random; they sell everything; I used to order from them all the time, and I love absent-mindedly watching the different “programs” while I’m doing other things (like blog posts!). Anyway, this particular night, the programming was focused on the daily special – a Vitamix…for $100 off the retail price. That alone was enough to make me hunt down a credit card. But, get this, there was a choice in base colors, and one of the choices was red. Woohoo! That was all I needed. The universe has spoken, and it said, “Order me.” So I did.

A week or two later and this baby was mine.

My New Toy!

Mr. M was reluctant. How could a blender be worth $500?! Then, we made whole fruit juice: pineapple (with the core) orange (lazily skinned). Yum! Next, we made whole fruit/veggie green juice: a green smoothie made with green grapes, lazily peeled Meyer lemons, parsley, tons of kale, a handful of ice cubes, and an apple. Liquid delight and a satisfied husband. Any machine that can turn whole leave kale into silky smooth liquid is apparently approved for residence in our home. Good to know, especially since I threw away the return label because I knew I was keeping it

Whole Food Juice/Kale Smoothie

Beans & Greens Mushroom Burger

I spend most Sundays in the kitchen. I prep food for the week, plan meals, create recipes, and clean out the fridge. The last part is usually what yields the most interesting creations!

Last week, during my clean-out-the-fridge sweep, I found some mushrooms that didn’t get turned into soup and a half bag of kale pieces that didn’t join their other half in kale chip heaven.  I tossed around the idea of adding the kale to my traditional mushroom soup, but I wasn’t sure how that would turn out, so I came up with something else. Having recently run out of 4 Ingredient Bean Burgers, I decided to turn my fridge finds into burgers for the week. After rummaging through the pantry and the vegetable draw, this is what I came up with.

Beans & Greens Mushroom Burger

14 oz mushroom caps, diced (about 2 cups)

1 med onion, diced (about 1 cup)

3-4 clove garlic, minced (about 2 TBSP, heaping)

2-3 c chopped kale

2 cans beans, rinsed (about 3 cups)

1/2 c nutritional yeast

Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.

Saute onions and garlic in a splash of water or veggie broth until begin to soften (about 5 minutes). Add mushroom pieces. Continue to saute until mushrooms have cooked down and become soft. Add kale pieces and cover pan to steam/wilt greens. After greens are sufficiently wilted, remove mixture from pan. Set aside. Note: You may have to use a strainer because the veggies tend to give off quite a bit of water.

In a large bowl, add rinsed and drained beans. Puree with a stick blender (or in a food processor or high-powered blender) until mostly smooth. (I like to leave a few pieces for texture and presentation.) Alternately, you can hand mash the beans the with a potato masher. Once beans are mashed, add nutritional yeast, seasonings and cooked veggie mixture. Stir to combine. (If mix is too wet, add additional nutritional yeast or a binder such as quinoa flakes or oats.)

Form 6 large balls from mixture and place on foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet. (Spray foil with cooking spray.) Slightly flatten each ball to desired patty thickness. Bake burgers at 375F for about 45 minutes, or until hold shape when moved and are no longer wet or gooey in the middle.

I used one can each red and white kidney beans.

Mashed beans. Pretty pink!

The mushrooms may seem like a lot before they cook down, but don’t worry; in a few minutes, they’ll shrink to half (or less!) their size.

My First Kale Salad

I did it. I finally made a raw kale salad. And it rocked!

Kale Salad

I don’t know why I’ve been so afraid of raw kale. I don’t mind it in smoothies, and I love kale chips. Wilting it into dishes is good too, so what was my hang-up with the raw thing?? Eh, whatever it was, I’m over it. I’m so over it I ordered an Eat More Kale t-shirt. Seriously. (They’re $25 with free shipping, and it all goes to the one guy who runs the site. Who, incidentally, really needs the cash to fight Chick-fil-A in court because they’re suing him for copyright/trademark infringement. Seriously.)

Before I made my salad, I did some research on my favorite blogs for suggestions. I settled on Angela’s suggestions from Oh She Glows. I combined her message plus wilt and wait method with an avocado dressing recipe from Bredan Brazier that Mama Pea shared. I’ve made this dressing a couple of times, and it’s always turned out great, so I knew I could count on it to wilt my greens. And it did.

Wilting Kale

While my kale was wilting, I chopped my salad veggies, which included carrot, celery, green pepper, radish, green onion, cucumber, tomato, and parsley.

Veggies waiting for their kale and avocado dressing.

A quick toss, and I had dinner. So good!

Hello 2012

It’s here!!

I can’t believe it’s the end of the world beginning of a new year already.  Last year was awesome, and this will be even awesomer. (Yes, I know that’s not a word, but being more creative is on my goal’s list this year.) I see good things in our futures! And to help achieve those good things, I’m making a list of goals for 2012. No, these aren’t resolutions. I’m not resolving to do anything. But I am setting goals, and I have plans in place to help achieve my goals (without plans, goals are just wishes, and I save those for birthday candles).

2012 Goals (partial list)

Eat more kale (and other leafy greens). I just started eating greens (other than spinach) this year, and so far, so good. That needs to continue.

Eat less wheat and soy. I’ve recently become aware that wheat and soy play havoc on my digestive system. So do beans and lentils, but not to the same extent. I’ve been consciously working on lessening my gluten consumption. That needs to continue.

Eat higher raw. Some day, probably sooner than later, I’ll probably be a raw vegan. I might not be 100%, but I’ll be close. I already know raw food and my body get along well. Very well, in fact, so I’m going to consciously work on increasing my consumption of living foods. I do OK now with salads and veggie snacks, but I want to do better than OK. That needs to improve.

Workout harder. I just started lifting weights this year, and I just recently started lifting heavier weights. This also needs to continue.

Run faster and farther. I finally broke my mental hurdle and ran farther than two miles. In the last month or so, I’ve logged at two treadmill workouts at 3.2 and 4 miles, respectively. This needs to continue, increase, and improve. My speed is very slow. That needs to increase.

Blog more.  I want to be more consistent with my blogging. When I get busy with school and home stuff, blogging is the first thing to get pushed aside. But I enjoy it. I really enjoy it. I need to do more things that I enjoy. That needs to increase.

Create more recipes. Sometimes I get lazy and have toast/cereal for dinner. That’s not a problem – until it’s seven days later, and I’ve had toast/cereal for dinner every one of those seven days. (Don’t judge. You’re just jealous of my stack of nut butters – ha!) With my upcoming semester’s schedule, I should have time to develop two or three recipes each week – easily. We’ll see how that goes.

I have some more personal goals too, like make more of an effort to wear make-up and do my hair for work (this is a hard one!), shop less/spend less money, acquire more online teaching gigs, drive less, run outside more, take shorter showers, be nicer to Mr. M when I’ve had a bad day, have less bad days (!!), and the list goes on. (Mr M also wants me to add a couple of things to my goal’s list, including snuggle him more and give him more love pats in the middle of the night.  I’m not sure how I’m going to accomplish either, but I’ll work on it.)

Good luck with your new year’s goals!

Goodbye 2011

The news reported  most people polled can’t wait for 2011 to be over and are excited to usher in the new year. They didn’t poll me, obviously. I’ve had a pretty good year. I very recently celebrated my first wedding anniversary, I started this blog, I got serious about exercise, I made lots of new friends, and I conquered my fear of Twitter. (Ok, the fear may be gone, but the knowledge hasn’t quite replaced it; If Twitter and I were in a relationship, our Facebook status would say, “It’s Complicated.”) So for me, all of those things add up to a pretty good year.

I hope your 2011 was good, too, and I hope your 2012 is even better.

Cheers to good health, more happiness than you know what to do with, and prosperity up the wazoo! Kale to you, my friend. Kale to you…

Leftover Potatoes Two Ways

Did you help stimulate the economy today? I did! But just a little. I don’t have anyone to buy gifts for, really, so I was just shopping for myself. (Mr. M and I exchange a gift or two, but we usually get what we need/want/can afford when we need/want/can’t live without it throughout the year.)

After I did a little shopping (locally – bonus!), I came home  – hungry. This is not new, people. I often come home hungry. And when I’m hungry, I want food. Now. Not late. It’s a good thing I have a freezer full of delicious and nutritious food, hu? Woohoo! Today’s freezer find was a soup I made last week but didn’t get around to sharing with you. I actually used the main ingredient – roasted potatoes - to make two recipes.

Smashed Potato and Kale Soup

2 lbs new red potatoes
4 c chopped kale
3-4 c veggie broth
1-2 c filtered water
1/2 c minced onion
3-4 cloves garlic (about 2 TBSP)
1 TBSP olive oil
Seasonings to taste: Salt, Pepper, Mrs. Dash original, dried parsley flakes, etc.

Roast potatoes at 400-425F for about an hour or until fork tender. Remove from oven and cool slighty.

In a soup pot, saute onions, garlic and kale in olive oil. Saute until kale is very wilted. Add a dash of veggie broth if pan is dry. You may also want to salt at this step to build your seasoning layers.

Smash potatoes with a hand-held potato masher. Add potatoes to soup pot along with veggie broth and water. Season to taste.

Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until all ingredients are warmed through and/or soup achieves desired consistency. (Soup with be brothy.)

Serving Size: 3 two cup servings

Click here for nutrition information.

Smashed Potato Goodness in a Bowl

 I used a little oil in this recipe, which is a bit unusual for me, but I really wanted to make sure the kale was wilted. I usually use the big, flat kale, but they didn’t have any when I went to the store, so I went with the curly kind. In my opinion, the curly kind is a little stronger in flavor and a little tougher in texture. The oil really helped soften the kale, but I’m sure you could accomplish the same thing with veggie broth or water. Or, if you are familiar with the curly kale, you could probably just let the heat of the soup wilt the greens. One reason I love soup is because it’s so versatile and forgiving!

 

After I made the soup, I still have some roasted potatoes left, and I couldn’t get the idea of potato salad out of my head. I know it’s not really the season for potato salad, but it turned out well, and it was really good beside a veggie burger.

 

Smashed Potato Salad

1/2 lb roasted new red potatoes

1 c diced parsley

1 c scallions (whites & greens), cut on bias

Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, granulated garlic, Mrs. Dash original

 

Vinaigrette:

2 tsp brown mustard

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP water (or more to thin dressing)

 

Using left-over roasted potatoes, smash with your fingers. Add to bowl along with parsley, scallions, vinaigrette, and seasonings. Stir and refrigerate to allow flavors to meld.Serving Size: 2 servings

Click here for nutritional information.

Naked Potato Salad

Potato Salad DressingPotato Salad all Dressed Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy potato smashing!

Motorcycles and Kale Chips

I knew before I married Mr. M that his favorite hobby was riding motorcycles. He had (and still has) two – a customer chopper and a Harley. But somehow, I managed to avoid riding on either – the chopper because it’s a single-seater, and the Harley because, well, I just did. But, when he traded in the HD on a Goldwing, I knew my excuses were limited.

Today was one of those days.

In an attempt to get me on the bike, Mr. M offered to drive aimlessly around the countryside, looking for the location of my next 5k. I have to admit, it was a nice ride, and the park looks nice. I’m excited for a new challenge!

As a reward to myself for getting on the bike (and putting on jeans, socks, and riding boots in 90F heat) and strapping on my crazy, albeit fairly comfortable, helmet, I made kale chips when we got home.  As usual, they were delicious!

Cheezy Kale Chips

1 bunch kale (I prefer the flat kind over the curly), washed and stemmed

1/3 c nutritional yeast (a.k.a. nooch)

1 TBSP Olive Oil (a.k.a. EVOO) – Optinal

Salt to taste

Stir together the nooch and EVOO. “Dip” the kale leaves into the mixture, coating both sides with cheezy goodness.

Bake at the lowest temperature your oven will allow (mine is 170F) until the chips are dry and crispy.

I set a timer for 60 minutes, check chips, then reset timer in 15 minute intervals, checking for crispness. Mine take anywhere from 90 – 120 minutes.

Kale Chips in the Oven

I really like this recipe because it doesn’t require a dehydrater. Most of the recipes I’ve seen on the web require hours of “cooking” in a dehydrater. True, using the oven set at this high of a temp means your chips won’t be “raw,” but they’re still delicious! Enjoy!

Cooked kale chips