The kale in Tom's vegetable bins is exploding! The pure taste of tender, fresh kale is undeniably one of my favorite pleasures. With the abundance of kale, I have the opportunity to try many new ways of exploring it's full potential. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, rich in calcium and cancer-fighting compounds. It contains sulforaphane, which is a well studied phytochemical that may inhibit cancer-causing substances, according to Rebecca Katz, author of one of my favorite cookbooks, One Bite at a Time.
I have been sharing some of the kale with my friend, Tahirih, who made a juice of kale, grapes and coconut water. I had never tried coconut water, but was convinced by her that it's slightly sweet flavor was a great compliment to the kale. So I purchased a small container (11.2 oz) of VitaCoco coconut water and put it with fresh kale and an apple into my VitaMix. If you have never made a kale drink, this would be an excellent one to introduce yourself to this nutrition packed green drink. I am unfamiliar with the nutritional merits of coconut water, but will explore that another day. All I know for sure is that this beverage was true summer Pzazz as I sipped it on the deck yesterday in hot, sizzling summer weather!
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| Kale in raised garden bin |
Ingredients:
1 cup loosely packed chopped kale (destem it first)
165 grams (just less than 3/4 cup) coconut water (that's half of the small container I purchased)
1 small apple ( I used a braeburn apple)
Preparation:
Put it all in the VitaMix and watch it whirl. Delicious and pure!
Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Calories: 126
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 49 mg
Total Carbs: 30 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 2 g
