Meatless Monday: Kale Day is Almost Here!

National Kale Day is just days away — Wednesday, October 2.

Get your mind off the dysfunction all around you, and celebrate instead!

National Kale Day, observed annually on the first Wednesday in October, “celebrates kale’s incredible health benefits, highlights kale’s culinary versatility, and promotes eating, growing and sharing kale throughout America.” 

You can read about Kale Day’s founders here. Be sure to check out the story of Pittsburgh native Kristen Beddard “the Kale Crusader,” who launched the Kale Project in Paris (yes, Paris, France) in May, 2012. Kristen’s story was recently reported in the New York Times. Kristen is a woman with a mission, “to make kale as common as lettuce.”

Why celebrate kale? 

Here are just a few reasons:

• One cup of raw kale has just 33 calories, yet is packed with all these nutrients.

• It is a cool weather vegetable with a long growing season.
• If you have space for a garden, kale is easy to grow.
• It can be locally sourced when warm weather crops have disappeared from the market.
• It is relatively inexpensive.
• It is “hearty.” When stored in a loose bag in the refrigerator crisper, it can last up to a week. 
• It comes in dozens of colorful varieties.
• As an ingredient, it is very versatile.

Here is one recipe from the many in my Kale Hero tool kit —perfect for a Kale Day party!

  

I discovered kale bout three years ago. I had a few failures as I learned to “deal with kale,” but I have been a huge fan of this superfood ever since. 

This year I became a Kale Hero. You can become one, too.

Join me in celebrating this remarkable food. 

Happy Kale Day! 

Have a great week. Eat well. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”