Kale Beautiful Kale!

I have a new love.  I've finally joined the masses and discovered just how yummy kale can be.  I know....I'm way late to the kale party.  It used to be that the only way I was getting kale in my body was via a green smoothie.  And even then, I would load the smoothie with spinach then put only lonely kale leaf in and I only did that because I knew what a nutritional powerhouse kale was.  Obviously getting one kale leaf every now and again wasn't really doing me much good.  I kept reading about the 'massaged kale salad' technique so decided to man up and give it a go.  Well, I'm here to tell you that taking that extra step to massage your kale is a very good thing!  Basically, you are massaging the dressing of your choice into the kale leaves and in the process, turning them into a softer, milder, all around yummier green.  I am now 100% addicted!  I make a big salad every Sunday and munch on it until Wednesday if I'm lucky then immediately make another!  The salad that did it for me is this one from Whole Living.

Totally addictive kale yuminess

When I make it, I find the best method is to put half of the dressing in with the kale, get in there with your hands - yes, totally messy but oh so worth it! - and massage away until it gets soft.  Then I add the rest of the ingredients and the remaining dressing.  So, so, so good....even my husband likes it which is saying a lot.  Also, I had my father and step-mother over for dinner last Sunday night and served it to them without telling them what the green was.  My step-mom loved it and halfway through it said, "This is so good! What is this green though?" Well of course I was so excited to practically scream, "Kale!  It's kaaaaaaaalllllleeeee!!!!"  They were both very surprised because of course, no one likes kale, it just too bitter!  Ha!

I was so proud of my raw kale consumption that I decided to search for something cooked that would be just as good.  I settled on a delicious sounding recipe from Fat Free Vegan.  With a name like Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas, I figured I couldn't go wrong!  Well it certainly delivered.  This was also my first try at a cashew dressing/sauce.  I know....what the hell?  This lifestyle change is one that I wanted to do right and by right, I mean I wanted to stay away from packaged food and too much fat.  I have been so frustrated by the number of blogs/recipes I see that use cashew 'cream'.  I feel like it adds so much fat to the recipe.  Sure, nuts are good for you, but I try to eat them in moderation and I was worried that if I started throwing cashew cream on every one of my dinners, I'd blow up like a balloon.  Again, I mean no disrespect to the cashew cream lovers of the world, I'm just trying to keep the fat/calories in check.  Anyway, I gave this one a go and really loved it.  My husband - who is not on my vegetarian train - really enjoyed this and couldn't believe there was no dairy involved.  He also said I should spring it on my father and step-mom next time they come over and wait until after to announce it vegan.  He is so getting in on my game!

On a personal note, I know I'm a pretty sketchy blogger.  My goal for this blog has always been to record my training process and race day experiences (I really do learn from past mistakes!) and now, to keep a running diary of my dietary changes in an effort to discover just what the heck is wrong with my belly and to get healthier.  Having said that, I'm very sporadic in my posting because I have a sick parent and it can be quiet overwhelming at times emotionally.  Some days (or weeks, months!) it takes a major effort to keep a sunshiny front for my kids and to put one foot in front of the other let alone blog about food and exercise.  So.  There you have it.  I love to blog and I love the connection that comes from reader comments and input so I don't want to give it up!