Trying Kale, and Eating More

A pint-size farmer's market stand selling fresh, local kale (watch he doesn't rip you off)

I didn’t eat a lot of kale growing up, and if I had seen the “Eat More Kale” slogan, I probably would have said, “huh?” But now, I get it. Or at least I think I do! So when the Vermont WIC program asked if I would contribute an article on getting kids to try kale, as part of my “Around the Seasons with Nourishing Foods” column, I flashed immediately to this picture of Nikolas, age 3 at the time, and said, sure!

Kale and other dark leafy greens (a large category that includes both greens like spinach, arugula, bok choy, Swiss chard, and even broccoli, although we don't eat its leaves very often, as well as wild-crafted greens), are so nutritious, that if we could eat one of these green things every day, we would be doing a great thing for ourselves and our families.

Like a multi-vitamin, they are high in vitamins like folate and immune-boosting vitamin C, and you can practically taste the minerals like calcium and iron in these nutrient-dense foods.

And while I appreciate all the nutritional value these foods offer, I think that if we "Eat More Kale," we're also making a statement about preserving more of America's farmland for healthy, diverse crops that will keep our local food system strong. A vote for kale is a vote against Big Ag.

Right now we have beautiful kale from David Miskell's farm in Charlotte, and he is donating part of his sales to Bo Muller-Moore's defense fund of the "Eat More Kale" trademark. Eat up!

The local Produce signs are popping at City Market when it comes to leafy greens

Tips for getting kids to eat kale:

• Consider planting kale – it’s amazingly easy to grow, and is often the last vegetable standing in the garden when cool weather hits (plant seeds in mid-summer for fall harvest)
• Have kids help you “pop” the leaves off the stems by gripping the stem at the bottom and using the other hand to pull up
• Have kids pretend to be bunnies and take a little nibble raw, straight from the leaf
• Chop a couple of leaves of kale VERY finely and sprinkle at the last minute into soups and claim that it’s just “herbs” – you’d be amazed at how well this works
• Have kids take a small leaf of kale and dip into their own salad dressing, or if they don’t like the acidity of vinegar, into a little olive oil mixed with sea salt
• Compare different varieties of kale with your kids at the farmer’s market or Co-op. Do you have a kid who likes purple? Great! They might like purple-stemmed “Russian” kale. Got a kid who’s obsessed with dinosaurs? Perfect! Show them the cool, bumpy texture of so-called “Dinosaur” (Lacinato) kale
• Make kale pesto the same way you would make basil pesto, or mix a few leaves of kale into the basil pesto when you’re making it
• Have kids help “massage” kale for massaged kale salad

And if all else fails, have your babysitter set up a farmer's market stand for your 3-year old so they can pretend to sell kale. You won't have the energy for this, but you'll be glad that someone did.