Why Eat Kale?

Nutrient density compares the vitamins, minerals and fiber a food provides with the energy it supplies. Leafy greens like kale score well because they are mostly water (about 89.6 g per 100 g) while still carrying useful nutrients.

• Vitamin K: about 390 µg per 100 g raw.
• Vitamin C: about 93 mg per 100 g raw.
• Calcium: 254 mg per 100 g raw.
• Fiber: 4.1 g per 100 g raw.

The WHO recommends eating at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day, not counting potatoes and other starchy roots. It isn’t only about quantity: each vegetable brings a different mix of nutrients, and varying colors and plant families helps you benefit from all of them.

• Rotate leafy greens through the week: kale, parsley, spinach, chard and lettuce.
• Combine kale with colorful produce such as tomatoes, carrots, peppers and pomegranate.
• Kale adds to your other vegetables — it doesn’t replace them.

• Raw: in kale tabbouleh, kale fattoush or a pomegranate and walnut kale salad.
• Warm: in kale lentil soup or garlic-lemon sautéed kale.
• As a full meal: a kale, chickpea and tahini bowl or quinoa with roasted vegetables and kale.
• As a snack: crispy kale chips.

Plan a whole bag with what can I cook with 250 g?, or browse all recipes.

Fiber is in the stems as well as the leaves, so don’t throw the stems away — chop them finely and cook them into soups or stews. If your current diet is low in fiber, the general advice is to increase it gradually and drink enough water so your body can adjust comfortably.

Full details are in vitamins and minerals on the nutrition page.

1. 1

   Hide it in familiar dishes

   Stir a handful of finely chopped leaves into lentil soup, an omelette or pasta sauce in the last few minutes of cooking.

2. 2

   Mix it with milder greens

   Swap a small part of the lettuce in fattoush, or of the parsley in tabbouleh, for kale — then increase the share over time.

3. 3

   Massage it before eating raw

   One to three minutes with a little olive oil, lemon and salt makes the leaves softer and gentler in flavor. How to massage kale

4. 4

   Balance the flavor

   Lemon, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, tahini and a pinch of salt all soften the mild bitterness. Taming bitterness

5. 5

   Try the crunchy route

   Crispy kale chips are an easy, tasty first step for newcomers.

6. 6

   Build up at your own pace

   Once you enjoy it, make kale the main green in some dishes. Remember that fiber is best increased gradually.

Every preparation step, from washing to cooking, is in how to prepare kale.

• Raw: crunchy and fresh, and keeps more vitamin C. Ideal for tabbouleh and massaged salads.
• Cooked: it shrinks, softens and turns slightly sweeter. Ideal for soups, stews and sautés.

Learn to massage and cook kale step by step.

• Little helpers: with clean hands, children can strip leaves off the stems or massage the salad.
• A crunchy snack: kale chips with salt or sumac.
• In dishes they already like: kale mozzarella pizza or a kale and potato frittata.
• In a glass: a kale, apple and lemon smoothie.
• With dips: serve massaged kale with labneh or hummus and let everyone choose.

More ideas in kale for family meals and 7 days of inspiration.