Monday, February 21, 2011

Healthy Recipe: Nicole's Winter Kale

Before I launch into the recipe I thought I'd give you a list of some of the health benefits of Kale I found online:

1. Lots of Vitamin A:  Very important for vision & the immune system
2. Lots of Vitamin C:  Also very important for immune system, cancer & other diseases prevention
3. Lots of Flavonoids:  Disease prevention
4. Lots of Glucosinolates:  Cancer prevention
5. Lots of Vitamin K:  Blood clotting, cancer & heart disease prevention, bone health
6. Lots of Manganese:  Bone building
7. Lots of Apha-Linolenic Acid:  Reducing inflammation, disease prevention (esp. heart disease)
8. Lots of Fibre: Cancer prevention, improved heart health

I am taking GREAT liberties with the name of this recipe because I cannot remember from whence it came or the proper name of it.  I know I found it on the internet.  If you can enlighten me please leave a comment here and I will certainly give proper credit to the originator of what will temporarily be known as "Nicole's Winter Kale".

Nicole's Winter Kale
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped into little pieces
4 or more cloves garlic (depending on how much you like garlic)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
8 tsp white sugar (feel free to substitute with honey or brown sugar)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 cups chicken broth or veggie broth is fine too
2 bunches of stemmed, rinsed, & torn Kale (=about 10 cups)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (you can substitute with any dried fruit really)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
2. Stir in onion and garlic.  Cook & stir until onion turns transclucent (approx. 5 min)


3. Stir in mustard, sugar, vinegar, & chicken broth & bring to a boil.
4. Stir in Kale, cover & cook 5 minutes or so.
5. Stir in cranberries & keep on boiling, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by half & cranberries have softened (about 15 min).
6. Season to taste
7. Sprinkle with sliced almonds & serve.