Why Is Kale Never Lonely? Cuz It Comes in Bunches!

An Ode to Kale Plus a Lemony Kale Salad Recipe

The humble kale can be the brunt of many bad jokes. In recent years, this ancient vegetable has been whipped into smoothies, toasted into chips, sautéed as a side dish, made into herbal flu shots, juiced into vodka cocktails and even massaged into salads (stay tuned for more about how to massage kale!).

The low-calorie, vitamin-rich leafy veg has been popping up everywhere lately. Did you know that today and every October 4th is National Kale Day?

The recent ascent of this humble leafy green to the kitchens of celebrity chefs reads like a Cinderella story right out of the pages of vegetable storybooks. It’s a kind of “fairy kale,” so to speak! (Ok, promise, that’s our last kale pun. We just wanted to have a little fun.)

But it’s no joke that modern health depends on eating more whole foods and plants, like kale. With your food choices impacting everything from your personal health to environmental health, it's arguable that the fate of the planet depends upon us all eating more kale.

With the onslaught of kale, kale, everywhere, some foodies have a hunch that kale is a fad. There’s no doubt that kale is enjoying unprecedented popularity. Yet it is no new-fangled fad. It’s an Old World staple eaten across the globe in Scotland, Kenya, Denmark, Portugal, Italy and many other countries.

As we all get more focused about eating for health, kale will continue to be a staple for those in the know. The average American eats 2 to 3 cups of kale every year and an estimated 152 pounds of sugar every year. Is it any wonder our collective health is a mess?

Our Seal Cup is the perfect container for packing your kale salad. 

Lemony Kale Salad With Pine Nuts

Recipe by Lia Huber, Founder of The Nourish Network

This may sound like a strange one, but “massaged” kale becomes tender and almost juicy. Paired with nutty sunflower seeds, it’s a hearty, delicious salad. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, zipped, cleaned and chopped or torn
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1⁄4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
• 1⁄2 cup Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Place the clean, dried and chopped kale in a large bowl and sprinkle with a small pinch of salt.
2. Toss with your hands to distribute the salt, then “massage” a generous handful of leaves at a time by rubbing back and forth between your palms and fingers (like when it’s cold outside and you rub your hands together) until they wilt slightly, becoming more tender.
3. Drop them back into the bowl and move onto another handful.
4. Add the lemon zest and sunflower seeds to the kale, toss with vinaigrette and top with additional ground black pepper, if you like.

Creamy Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon almond butter (or tahini or peanut butter)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons onion, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup water
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Blam everything in a blender until smooth.

Makes 2/3 cup