Great little recipe.  Super simple to do with only 4 ingredients!  Kale, Olive Oil, Vinegar &  Salt!

Before you even start…Let’s be creative to integrate delicious and nutritious kale into a meal….

a) Serve in a cool little bowl… Salad or snack (tastes to me a little like ‘popcorn’ but not fluffly and white)

b) Sprinkle on top of a pasta dish! Lovely on top of a bowl of simple noodles with squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil and shaved parmesan cheese.  But also can get away with adding on top of traditional spaghetti and meat or tomato sauce.

c) Lovely vegetable bottom to serve with some baked or steamed salmon or fish of your choice place on top.  Great with chicken as well!  Interesting texture and flavourful.

d) Sprinkle on top of a bowl of soup, chilli, stews.

Please message us with your thoughts on this simple but unique addition is a family meal!  Let us know if you are successful with adding a different kind of ‘green’ to your families diet.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 cups Chopped fresh Kale, hard stems removed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt or sea salt

Directions:

• Place rack on lowest shelf of your oven.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread kale out on a sturdy baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.  Toss to coat completely.  (Another coating method – place kale in plastic baggie and shake with olive oil and vinegar then pour onto baking sheet)
• Place on lowest rack and bake 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and stir/toss so that the kale moves around and spreads out to get crispy all over.
• Bake another 8-12 mins or until Kale is crispy.  It should be just lightly browned and crispy to touch.  Keep your eye on this closest to the 8-9 min mark – do not want to burn just brown.  Note: if kale still bends, rather than crackles, when you touch it, it is not done yet. Return to oven. Turn down heat if it is getting too brown but continue cooking until crispy texture.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and serve.

Here are some other Kale recipes from the classic Canadian Living site: Top Kale Recipes and a nice recipe blogsite ‘Dinner with Julie’  - Spaghetti with Braised Kale – absolutely easy, healthy and a nice twist to introduce another vegetable to the plethora of attempts you will try with your children.

I LOVE this salad.  Not only is it healthy and tasty but to my surprise, my picky 3 year old finally tried a beet. I tested this out with other little visitors of ours – 1 year old and a ‘I’m into beets’ teenager.  The dressing it the key.  The horseradish tends to give a nice zip but the honey mellows the flavour so the kids enjoy it.  You can control the zip!  So Go ahead! Get messy!

This recipe is from the wonderful Food Network.  Courtesy of Ricardo and Friends…. Canadian and his recipes rock!

• 6 large beets, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp creamed horseradish (or to taste)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I use the jarred minced garlic)
• Salt & pepper

Boil water, and cook the beets until tender.  Drop them into cold water to cool them quickly.  Cut into 1-cm thick wedges.  Set aside

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients to make the dressing and add the beets.  Toss well and season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I found this recipe posted in the Bistro Section of the Edmonton Journal.  It was a March feature called ‘Rice Bowl Evolution’ written by Karen Barnaby.  I always saw Tahini at the superstore but never knew how to incorporate it into everyday cooking.  Here is a great recipe that uses your leftover chicken and introduces a new flavour to children.

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, plus more to your taste
• 1/4 cup water, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic
• dash sea salt
• 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
• 1 cup diced English cucumber
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 a medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets, cooked
• 4-6 cups hot cooked brown rice or bulgar (can use some quinoa for a change)

Place the tahini in a bowl and whisk in lemon juice and water.  The tahini will become thick, then thin out as liquid is added.  Add the garlic and cumin and season to taste, adding more lemon juice if needed.  If the dressing seems too thick, add more water.  It should be creamy and a little thicker than a crepe batter.

Combine the chicken, cucumber, tomato, parsley and cauliflower.  Toss with the tahini dressing.  Place the rice or bulgar into 4 bowls and spoon the chicken salad over the top.