Kale recipes (or how I got my kids to eat - and love - kale).

My boys are kale addicts. Addicts, I tell you.

They love it. Beg me to buy it. Plead with me to cook with it. Jump for joy when we talk about growing it in the garden. Addicts.

And I couldn't be happier.

I love that the boys love kale because kale is a rockin' good food -- loaded with vitamins A, C, and K (among others), and full of  fiber, iron, calcium, and even a little protein. But, you know, it is a little weird. I mean, kale? Have you looked at it lately? Doesn't jump out as a #1 kid favorite.

So, how, you may wonder, did we get here? How did I turn my little guys into kale lovers?

The answer is: A little olive oil, some salt and a waaaaaaay too enthusiastic mama.

I started out all low key, nonchalantly introducing kale to the kids one day. "Oh, hey. This is a funny vegetable," I said while putting the groceries away. Of course, Conal wanted to know what it was. "Oh, just kale." 

And I left it at that.

His curiosity got the better of him and soon he wanted to know what kale was for. "Oh, man. Well, I love it. I mean, I could eat it all the time. I like to make chips out of kale. And other things. But, I'll probably make chips this time and eat them all myself."

The boy took that as a challenge. No way was he going to let me eat the chips all by myself.

"You want to help make them?"

Of course he did. And so we made kale chips. Easy peasy:

Kale Chips

1 head of kale

olive oil

kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350. Peel the kale off the stalks, breaking it into pieces as you do:

Wash thoroughly. Dry as well as you can. Spread kale pieces on a baking sheet (you'll probably need two). Drizzle olive oil over the kale and rub it into the kale pieces. Sprinkle with salt. 

Bake in the oven for 10-20 minutes (depending on how stuffed your baking sheet is).  Check the chips often, to make sure they haven't burned and to stir. They'll shrivel up quite a bit: 

When they are crisp, take them out and eat 'em up! 

If you're lucky, you might get to enjoy a few -- my kids eat at least half of them within the first few minutes of taking them out of the oven.

I also use kale in lots of other dinner recipes. One of my boys' favorites is rotini with kale and carrots:

I simply saute sliced carrots and kale in a little olive oil while I boil the pasta. When the pasta is still firm, I add it to the vegetables, along with a half cup of chicken broth. I let that boil down for about 5 minutes and that's it. I serve it with a little shredded pecorino romano and the kids love it.

Seriously. They eat all the kale before the even start on the pasta. 


And then they ask for more. Of the kale.

And that's how I did it, that's how I created little kale lovers. If you want to get your kids to love -- or maybe just try -- kale (or any other vegetable, really), my advice is to start with a kid-friendly recipe, like the kale chips. Do not give your kids any indication whatsoever that the vegetable is weird, or that they might not like it. In fact, just act cool, like the vegetable is no big deal at all.

Once you've hooked them, expand the recipes you make with the vegetable. If you don't meet with success the first time, though, don't give up! Be cool and keep trying!


Enjoy your kale, everyone!

~ Felice