Is raw Kale ok to eat, or should I be cooking it?

[MTbucket]

Hi
I have been looking to add more green veggies to my meals, since I could use about a 30 pound weight loss. I really don't like lettuce salad much, but I find chopping up kale and mixing it with my starches great! Is it good for me to be eating so much raw greens? i know they have more nutrients raw, but can i access them better in cooked form?
I make this starchy "energy salad" often, it has whole grains like brown rice, wild rice, and Millet, black beans, corn, onions, different sauces and spices, i change up from day to day on those for a little variety, and kale!

[patty]

Looks great. Sometimes I have put raw kale/stems and all in the food processor and pulse it to bite size pieces. I also do that to celery, carrots and broccoli for addition of raw veggies. Someone just gave me a lot of sugar (small bananas) and I didn't want to freeze them so I have them in 3 trays in the dehydrator. In the past I have done kale chips but I never really enjoyed them.. raw kale and cut small I enjoy.

Aloha, patty

[MINNIE]

I think your salad sounds great. Some people don't like the taste of raw Kale, or have trouble digesting it.

It doesn't sound like that applies to you, so go ahead and enjoy it.

I just recently started eating raw baby kale, which I never thought I would like. But it's good!

[GeoffreyLevens]

I eat quite large salads all the time. (I don't need to lose weight but I have to be very careful not to gain.) Where I live in Colorado I can get great "salad mix" from local CSA that has kale, bok choy, beet greens and several kinds of lettuce. Where I have been last 18 months good lettuce is rarely available so I have had big salads really most days and never used lettuce at all! Lot of cabbage and esp red cabbage, also collards or kale when I can get them, New Zealand spinach which people seem to grow here more than "true" spinach, purple onion, cilantro, occasionally plantain, parsley, had Nasturtiums for quite awhile (I was growing them) so lot of their flowers and a few leaves, raw broccoli, cauliflower...

I figure as long as I can chew it, it tastes good to me (and doesn't upset my stomach) any plant is fair game for my salad

I usually use cooked sweet potato as base for thick, creamy dressing, add a little water and some curry blend and mash it up w/ fork then toss in w/ the salad veg.

[MTbucket]

Thanks for the replies!
the lighter colored kale the last few days was good, but today I tried some darker stuff, and now got a stomach ache.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Thanks for the replies!
the lighter colored kale the last few days was good, but today I tried some darker stuff, and now got a stomach ache.

Stomach ache may be related to how bitter it is rather than the color. Something to consider at any rate. In Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine, bitter taste is very hard on g.i. tract. I small amounts (definition of "small" depends on the particular body) very stimulating to digestion and beneficial in many other ways (think Swedish Bitters) but too much and you can get cramps, slowed digestion, diarrhea, all sorts of upset). Cooking reduces bitterness somewhat.

[MTbucket]

I steamed some of the same ones a bit to remove the bitter taste and put it in a bean burrito, I feel much better now!

[GeoffreyLevens]

I steamed some of the same ones a bit to remove the bitter taste and put it in a bean burrito, I feel much better now!

Cool! Or maybe I should say "warm"!

[dstewart]

Try massaged kale. It's not a perversion or deviant sexual behavior.

Destem the kale, and rip it into bite-size pieces and put it in a bowl you can get your hands into. Put half a lemon's juice (or whatever amount seems good to you) in it, and massage the kale and lemon juice for three or four minutes. The kale will shrink down, get dark green, and tenderize.

I then usually mince a clove of garlic and put it in, and use it either by itself as a salad, or put it on or in foods--it's good on sandwiches, e.g. (like a hummus and massaged kale sandwich).

You may like a little salt on it, but I don't really feel it's necessary.

[Skip]

Try massaged kale. It's not a perversion or deviant sexual behavior.

Destem the kale, and rip it into bite-size pieces and put it in a bowl you can get your hands into. Put half a lemon's juice (or whatever amount seems good to you) in it, and massage the kale and lemon juice for three or four minutes. The kale will shrink down, get dark green, and tenderize.

I then usually mince a clove of garlic and put it in, and use it either by itself as a salad, or put it on or in foods--it's good on sandwiches, e.g. (like a hummus and massaged kale sandwich).

You may like a little salt on it, but I don't really feel it's necessary.

Thanks for your tip. I always seem to find kale to bitter. I tried messaging the kale in a pot full of water to also clean the kale and after that I steamed it and that works to remove most of the bitterness...