The Carsons: Who Knew?

For Valentines Day I got a "Dinner for 2" from Whole Foods. Let me just tell you... best thing ever!! It came with tons of gourmet food, all you had to do was warm it up. Could not be better for a mom with a toddler! Anyways, one of the side dishes that came with our meal was KALE. Neither Brett or I had ever had it before, so we gave it a try. It was cooked with raisins and apricots, so it tasted pretty good.

I looked for it at the store yesterday and found some right by the lettuce/spinach area. To be honest, I had not idea how to cook it, so I came home and googled, "how to cook kale" (what did we do before the internet?) I ended up sauteing it with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and some extra virgin olive oil. It turned out pretty good! As I was doing my research I was amazed with the health benefits that Kale provides, here are just a few:

Nutrition Know-How

Three servings of leafy greens each day has been found to slow cognitive loss by 40 percent.
Kale is packed with phytochemicals like sulfur-containing glucosinolates and isothiocyanates that help ward off cancer.
The fiber in kale helps absorb and sweep out DNA-damaging chemicals and other toxins that enter our bodies.
Open-leafed plants in the cabbage family, like kale, have higher amounts of vitamins C and A and carotenoids than plants whose leaves don’t see the sun. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that also support proper functioning of the immune and reproductive systems and lower the risk of cataracts.
Kale is an excellent source of minerals, including calcium, and manganese, a mineral the body requires for many physiological functions.
One cup of kale provides 1,300 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K, which is important for healthy blood coagulation and maintaining bone mass.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-cook-kale.html#ixzz0xJLnfWem

I think this just may be something I add to my morning smoothie, and weekly dinner menu... just to make sure we get all benefits!
I gave some to Crew to try and I think you can tell what he thought of it by the picture. I think it will take some getting used to for him, but hopefully he will come around. The health benefits make it too good to pass up! So load up on some Kale, your body will thank you!