I love Kale. I eat it almost every day. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s reputation as a bad ass superfood is absolutely true. I tell people all the time that I can literally feel my mojo slipping away if I miss a day of ingesting its virtuous green leaves. Kale has been a big buzzword lately with the nutritionally conscience community. The media has picked up on it as well -all the sudden, you’re seeing kale added to designer smoothies served from Southern California to New York and you can order kale salads in posh restaurants. Iceberg lettuce is really starting to look bad, yo.
But a debate came up the other morning as I was preparing my post crossfit/run recovery smoothie with some Gnarly Whey and Kale (sign up for our newsletter for the forthcoming recipe). A coworker walked in (yes, I’m the dude that goes to work right after his exercise sesh, still in his workout stuff) and asked what I was putting in my smoothie, when I mentioned Kale, he asked why I wasn’t using broccoli. I told him broccoli was great but kale really packs a wallop of nutrients (I also explained how important preserving my mojo was) and that’s when the debate began. He disagreed with me. He told me pound for pound, broccoli is much more nutrient dense than kale. He said kale was just a Johnny-come-lately and the latest trend in green eating for pseudo hipster-yuppies like myself. Ouch. that last one stung. I have to admit denizens, the man hurt me and my pride. Did I want to take the blender and smash it over his smirking head? No. But did I desperately want to prove him wrong? Hell to the yes.
I’m probably the least impressed by the latest media darlings being touted to the public –and I’m especially skeptical when it comes to health claims, but kale stands up. Although broccoli is absolutely an amazing vegetable as well, it looks like kale does beat it out when it comes to packing some serious nutrition into some sweet greens. Did I tell my coworker what I found. Uh, yeah. What –I’m supposed to be humble about my mojo?
And I thought I’d finish everything by giving you one of my favorite kale salad recipes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyEZ266sDZI
