To say that I love kale would be an understatement. I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with the crunchy cruciferous green.

Upon moving to Norway it hit me like a tonne of bricks when I couldn’t find kale for the life of me, let alone organic kale. The day I finally found kale, it was glorious… until I realized 1. It wasn’t organic and 2. It was $9 CAD for a bunch. Needless to say, in my desperate state, I splurged and made a giant bowl of my favorite salad (found by none other than my mom) and a bowl of my favorite kale chips. Since that time, I hadn’t found it again…until yesterday. I was at my favorite Norwegian organic grocer and to my surprise, I found stacks and stacks of organic kale. I went a little nutty and in honor of that I share with you this post: the health benefits of kale and my favorite kale salad recipe.

So What’s the Big Deal About Kale?

Well, kale is “the Queen of Greens” when it comes to nutrient density and fiber content. Kale contains a host of vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to your health and beauty, including beta-carotene and lutein (which work to improve skin elasticity and firmness), vitamin A (an antioxidant that helps form and maintain healthy skin, teeth, eye function and bones) , well-absorbed calcium (“well absorbed” meaning you don’t pee it out like most of the calcium people get from dairy products), manganese (protects you against free-radical damage), Vitamin C (our best friend in terms of skin care – essential for collagen production as well as the main component for structural protein in the skin…and as a natural antioxidant, it reduces skin damage and minimizes wrinkles), Vitamin B6 (helping with everything from PMS to heart disease), folate (helps in the prevention of cervical cancer and diseases such as osteoporosis) and phytonutrients (a word you can often see on labels of skincare products, referring to organic components of plants that, while aren’t essential to human life, are certainly beneficial in ways such as slowing down the aging process and protecting against certain diseases). Phewf! See what I mean by the Queen of green?

Now with that out of the way, check out my all time favorite kale salad, compliments of Planet Organic:

Ingredients:

1 bunch	Kale, chopped	1 bunch
3 cups	Carrots, grated	750 ml
1/2 head	Red cabbage, thinly sliced	1/2 head
1/2 cup	Tamari pumpkin seeds (see method below)	125 ml
1/2 cup	Tamari sunflower seeds (see method below)	125 ml
1/2 cup	Flax or hemp oil (Olive oil works too)	125 ml
1/3 cup	Bragg Liquid Aminos	80 ml
5 tbsp	Balsamic vinegar (I prefer to use Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with “The Mother”)	75 ml
1 tsp	Oregano, dried	5 ml

Method

1. Wash kale and chop.

2. In a cast iron skillet over medium to high heat, stir sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Remove from heat when they’re toasted golden brown.

3. While the skillet is hot, add in a few drops of tamari, which will sear onto the seeds. Remove and let cool.

4. In a large bowl combine chopped kale, carrots, cabbage and seeds. Set aside.

5. In a small bowl whisk together oil, Bragg Liquid Aminos, vinegar and oregano and pour over kale mixture.

6. Toss until evenly coated and chill 2 hours before serving.

This salad keeps well refrigerated 2-3 days.

Munch on lovelies!

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