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Welcome to Creative Veges 101 where I take you on a journey of learning how to:

  • Get creative with vegetables
  • Experiment with delicious quick recipes
  • Easily get them into your meals every day

This week is kale, a green leafy cruciferous vegetable which has a slightly bitter taste – but don’t be put off!

There is sufficient epidemiological evidence to suggest that the consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with a reduction in cancer!
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We need kale in our life and these recipes will help you find ways to get kale on your plate. As with all cruciferous vegetables, you may want to cook your kale if you have thyroid issues. Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates that can inhibit iodine uptake, but this is negated when the vegetables are cooked.
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Having said that, kale is a super green, jammed packed with so many nutrients and antioxidants, it’s almost a leafy multivitamin!
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Kale doesn’t contain oxalates that interfere with the uptake of calcium. This means you can count kale as a good calcium source whether it’s cooked or raw – another win for this amazing vege!
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Kale n Apple Mishmash
I really did make this recipe up when all I had in the fridge one night was kale and apple! Topped with a dollop of coconut yogurt I was hooked! For months I didn’t go a week without making a batch to add to my homemade granola or steel cut oats and buckwheat. It’s such a great way to hide kale because the sweetness of the apple and cinnamon mask the bitterness of the kale.
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Kale Pesto
What a delicious way to hide kale and reap the benefits of two raw leafy greens. As with any of my dips I don’t add oil to achieve the desired consistency, I add water. Plus I have used nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavour adding more exceptional nutrition to this recipe.
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Kale Chips
You MUST try at least once! Take the time to rub a tiny bit of your chosen oil into each leaf and ensure they are on a single layer on the tray…and then watch them like a hawk. They cook super-fast and one extra minute can mean the difference between a perfect chip and a burnt flavour.
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Kale Rice
Sometimes you need to deal with your kale before it goes limp but you don’t have immediate plans for it. ‘Rice’ it…exactly the same way you rice cauliflower or broccoli. Place the washed and dried leaves, minus the stalk, in your food processor and blend until the kale resembles tiny green grains of rice. Then you have 2 options: Place in one cup serve-sized portions in the freezer to pop in casseroles at a late date OR spread the kale rice on a baking tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with herbamare, and bake until cooked. You now have a delicious, crispy, salty green that you can sprinkle over salads, soups or casseroles.