If you mention Kale to any nutritionally informed person, be prepared for the “gotta have it” speech as they will sing its praises as if the vegetable were good in bed. That being said, I’m trying to include this cruciferous vegetable in my meal repertoire, but I’m struggling with how to cook it and make it tasty and nutritious at the same time.

Let me state for the record that the “Green Smoothie Drink” did not fly.

Non-disputed research shows that there are three standout benefits from Kale. It’s loaded with: (1) antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, (2) much-needed macronutrients (in which the average U.S. adult is currently deficient), and (3) cancer-preventive nutrients called glucosinolates. In addition, Kale is packed with Vitamin K and is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese; a very good source of copper, tryptophan, calcium, vitamin B6, and potassium; and a good source of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin B2, protein, vitamin B1, folate, phosphorous, and vitamin B3.

Seriously, that reads like the back of a multi vitamin bottle and it even has FIBER.

I’ve thrown it raw into a salad, but the one hour-post-meal flossing made it a real chore to eat. How do you cook this stuff that resembles a freshly mowed lawn while retaining all of its nutritional value?

A friend of mine has a snack-like recipe where you chop the kale, toss it with olive oil and cider vinegar, season with whatever spices you like (I used a ton of garlic salt…big no-no) and roast it at a high temperature until it gets crunchy. If you close your eyes, you can pretend you’re eating salt and vinegar chips, but the roasting kills most of the nutrients. Does anyone have a good Kale recipe that tastes good and delivers on all the nutritional hype?