Hello everyone!

It’s Sallie here again to chat with you guys on Kristen’s blog. This time around it’s all about trendy health foods. I will be starting a 5 week series on all the foods you’ve heard about on Oprah or Dr. Oz, but haven’t managed to incorporate into your diet quite yet. Every Friday, I will give you the lowdown on these foods and give you some tasty ways to work them into everyday eating. The foods we will be covering will include kale, coconut water, chia seeds, quinoa, and flax/flax meal. I must admit, I was nervous about giving some of these a go at first (full disclosure: I will be trying coconut water for the first time simply for the purpose of writing this blog post), but variety is the spice of life, as they say, so let’s get things going…

This week’s trendy health food is Kale. Kale is related to cabbage and is a leafy green vegetable that you’ve probably seen in the supermarket, smoothie recipes, and maybe even a salad at a hip café. It seems like just in the past year and a half, it’s really taken off in popularity and it’s easy to see why. Kale is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium (yep, dairy products aren’t the only source). It is also believed to have cancer fighting properties. Another upside of kale is that it’s usually one of the cheapest greens in the grocery store.  Eating healthy AND saving money? Yes, please.

I usually do a mix of romaine and kale as a base for my salads. Adding a little lemon juice and massaging the leaves after rinsing helps to combat the bitter taste that kale can sometimes have.  It can be eaten raw, steamed, and baked. Baking kale into “chips” is a nice way to satisfy a crunchy/salty craving while still getting some vitamins in. To make a batch, rinse the kale thoroughly and then allow it to dry completely. Toss the leaves in olive oil and then whatever seasonings you’d like (think salt, pepper, curry powder, Old Bay, etc.). Bake the kale at 350 degrees in the oven until crispy.