Yes, You Can Enjoy Raw Kale! These 10 Salad Recipes Prove It (2024)

FAQs

Can you eat raw kale as a salad? ›

Often labeled as a superfood, kale is one of the healthiest and most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. This leafy green comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and textures. It's often eaten raw in salads and smoothies but can also be enjoyed steamed, sautéed, boiled, or baked.

Is it OK to eat kale every day? As kale contains a variety of nutrients, a person can consume it regularly as part of a balanced diet. However, some people may need to limit how much kale they consume. These include people taking beta blockers and blood thinners, as well as people with kidney disease.

Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate, fiber, carotenoids and manganese it contains. One cup of raw kale has just 20 calories.

"However, if you are looking for a food that is particularly high in fiber, vitamins K and C, kale is a better choice," she said. "If you are looking for a food that is particularly high in folate and a source of iron, and vitamins A and E, then spinach is a better choice."

Massage Your Kale Leaves

Kale will benefit from some gentle kneading to soften its texture. A bit of oil can help to break down the fibrous membranes as well. Here's how: Wash the kale and remove the leaves from the stems. Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and rub them in your hands with olive oil and salt.

Steaming is a better option than boiling because you don't lose as many nutrients with this cooking method, according to Gray. “You're not giving it heat treatment for very long, so it's closest to raw that you can get and you still are cooking it to some degree,” she said.

— often has red-hued stems. The leaves are flatter than those of curly kale (resembling arugula leaves) and can be green or gray-green in color. Red kale is often considered the sweetest kale, which makes it perfect for eating raw.

Some foods can help lower blood pressure naturally, and kale is one of them. Because it contains high levels of magnesium, calcium, and potassium, along with other vitamins and fiber all working together, kale can help lower blood pressure.

Let's start with digestive issues. Kale is loaded with soluble fiber that can cause nausea and insoluble fiber that can cause diarrhea. It also belongs to a complex sugar family — called the raffinose family of oligosaccharides (RFOs) — that can cause bloating.

The findings suggest that kale intake could be beneficial for alleviating mild constipation by increasing stool bulk with dietary fiber and leading to an increase in stool frequency. Correlation analysis showed that several gut microbes and fecal metabolites correlate with the subjects' responses to kale intake.

Does kale make you gassy? ›

Kale, broccoli, and cabbage are cruciferous vegetables and contain raffinose, a sugar that produces gas and makes you bloat.

She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients. When you do nosh on this dark leafy green, pair it with foods rich in fatty acids like oil or nuts to boost the uptake of fat-soluble vitamins, according to Manganiello.

Kale also provides healthy carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Cons: As an abundant source of vitamin K, kale must be used with caution if you're using blood thinners.

Typical shelf life: Generally, kale can last in the fridge for about five to seven days. The key is to store it correctly to maintain its crispness and nutrients. Impact of temperature and humidity: Kale prefers a cool and slightly humid environment, so the crisper drawer in your fridge is ideal.

She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients. When you do nosh on this dark leafy green, pair it with foods rich in fatty acids like oil or nuts to boost the uptake of fat-soluble vitamins, according to Manganiello.

Wrong. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, which means that it's more like broccoli or Brussels sprouts than it is like lettuce. Kale can be eaten in a variety of ways, ranging from soups and smoothies to salads. Some people even bake kale, sprinkling a little bit of olive oil and salt on top to create crispy kale chips.

While you really can use any green in a green smoothie (spinach, chard, arugula sorrel, mustard greens), raw kale contains large quantities of anti-oxidants and other anti-cancer nutrients as well as beaucoup chlorophyll, manganese, calcium, and B-vitamins, making it the ultimate healthy superfood.