These Kale Recipes that satisfies your cravings!

WHAT IS KALE?!? What kind of kale recipes will my family even eat? I never knew what kale was until I started making green smoothies. I saw these kale recipes transformed by these nutrient dense smoothies.

Do you like dark leafy greens? If you are anything like me... kale is not the first food I snack on. But... it is hard to get the benefits from kale if I never eat it! Do you have a hard time finding a healthy kale recipe that you and your family will eat? I never ate kale until I started making green smoothies. Now I crave kale!

Now I look forward to sautéing kale in coconut oil with a dash of sea salt. Or crisp bite size leaves in the oven for a crunchy snack. My kids will devour a large bowl of kale chips no problem. Plus, they even ask for more. LOVE IT!

Back in my younger years, I wouldn’t have even tried kale. I thought that it was mainly used to decorate gourmet dishes at fancy restaurants. Now, I prefer to either drink a kale smoothie or sauté a kale recipe for at least one meal every week.

If I can crave these kale recipes, there is still hope for you!

I have seen my skin glow, my weight drop, and my bowels become regular from drinking these kale smoothies.

On Dr. Fuhrman’s nutrient dense chart, kale is at the top along with collards. In order for a food to be nutrient dense, it must contain a high amount of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) with low amount of calories. My experience and research has shown me that calories are not the main cause of America's health issues. But that article is for another time.

A great leafy green to begin adding to your smoothies is spinach. Its flavor is easy to cover up with fruit. I can add quite a bit of beneficial spinach without the smoothies taste changing.

Kale’s flavor on the other hand is harder to cover up. Start making kale recipes with 1-4 leaves of kale. Then, add more leaves as you adjust to the flavor. Also, the young tender kale leaves are less bitter. So, keep that in mind to harvest it earlier than later if you plan to grow kale. Or you can wait for a light freeze outside and then harvest. Kale recipes with fall or early winter harvested kale tastes sweeter than any kale you'll taste in summer.

Two secrets to tame down kale’s flavor

#1 - Briefly blanch and freeze the kale before blending. (If I know that I'll use the kale within a short period of time, I sometimes don't even blanch the kale. I just freeze it in serving size baggies.) Not only you can get more leaves into your smoothie, you can also save a lot of money by buying kale in bulk and then freezing it.

Frozen kale is a great way to add more nutrition to any meal. All you need to do is take the frozen kale (straight from the freezer) in its baggie and smash it with your hand or rolling pin. The frozen fragile leaves easily crushes up. It looks like extra seasoning in the dish. You can then stir it into an array of meals... such as soups, casseroles, etc. It is a lot easier than finely chopping up kale with a knife.

#2 – Add a delicious berry green drink or flavored stevia drops (my favorite stevia is the berry flavor) to help accompany the earthy flavor of the greens.

3 problems that people run into while blending kale

The first problem is that the cell walls of kale are very tough for a low quality blender to break apart. I would highly recommend a Blendtec Blender. This blender will pulverize through those tough cell walls so that you do not have to chew on pieces of kale while drinking a smoothie.

If you need to use a low quality blender, blend the greens with half of the water first. Then, add the rest of the liquid with the fresh and frozen fruit and blend again.

The second problem with these kale recipes is that it will froth up at the top. To prevent smoothies from forming, blend something frozen. That should reduce the amount of foam. Also, using a thicker fruit helps to suspend smoothie together... like banana, mango, and avocado.

The third problem is that after a kale smoothie sits for awhile, the smoothie starts to thicken up into a gel-like consistency. For that reason, I usually drink my kale smoothies right after blending. If you need to save a smoothie in the fridge, I suggest to make a spinach smoothie.

To use kale in smoothies, you should thoroughly wash the kale leaves and remove the stem. I firmly hold the base of the stem with one hand and run my other hand up the stem removing the leafy part. You can use a knife for this also.

Want to save money making these kale recipes??? Who doesn't! Learn how to grow kale in your own garden or flowerbed.

You can discard the stem if you like, but I give the stems to my dogs. One of them actually chews on it like she would a bone. Silly dog! She will eat anything I give her. The other one will only eat it, if I cut it up.

The flavor of these advanced kale recipes are an acquired taste. So only use 1-3 leaves at the beginning and work you way up.

My biggest tip with kale smoothies is that you should add fat to your kale recipes! I know.. I said add fat! Hear me out on this. It will add a pleasant creaminess to your smoothie. You'll enjoy it a lot more! Plus, the fat will aid in the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins in the kale. Thirdly, the fat will assist in stabilizing your blood sugars. In the future I will explain in further detail why health-promoting dietary fats are essential to our bodies.

Okay... now don't go and add canola oil to your blender! Use healthy oils and fats that don't oxidize easily. Coconut cream, mct oil, raw nuts, avocados, milk, or yogurt can all be good additions to your recipe.

Want even more recipes than what is found below? Check out the kale smoothie recipes that other readers like you have shared with us.

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Kale Recipes

Beginner Blueberry Kale Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled

2-4 kale leaves

1 cup blueberries, frozen

1 packet of stevia (optional)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup coconut cream

Pour the water and coconut cream and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries and stevia. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Tropical Kale Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled

10 kale leaves

1 cup pineapple, fresh

1 cup mango, frozen

1 serving of stevia (optional)

3 ice cubes

1 cup pure water

1/2 cup cream (coconut or heavy whipping cream)

1 tsp - 1 tbsp mct oil

Pour the water, cream, mct oil into the blender. Toss the banana, kale, and pineapple into the blender. Blend. Then add the mango and ice. Blend again until smooth. Very Yummy! 1-2 servings

Purple Tropics

1 large ripe banana, peeled

2-4 large kale leaves

1/2 cup blueberries, freeze-dried

3/4 cup pineapple, fresh or canned

1 serving of stevia (optional)

5 ice cubes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup coconut cream

Pour the water and coconut cream and toss the banana, kale, blueberries, pineapple, and stevia into the blender. Blend. Then add ice. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Purple Kale Smoothie

If you have a hard time drinking green kale recipes, try a smoothie recipe with beets. You only need a little bit, but it can disguise your green smoothie!

1 large ripe banana, peeled

3-4 large kale leaves

1/4 medium beet (To turn the smoothie purple)

1 cup blueberries, frozen

1 serving of stevia (optional)

1 cup pure water

1/2 cup coconut cream

1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

5 ice cubes

Pour the water and coconut cream and toss the banana, kale, and beet into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries, stevia, and ice cubes. Drizzle the coconut oil while blending until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Creamy Avocado Kale Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled

4 large kale leaves

1/4-1/2 avocado flesh

3/4 cup blueberries, frozen

1/2 cup strawberries, frozen

1 serving of stevia (optional)

1 cup pure water

1/2 cup coconut cream

Pour the water and coconut cream and toss the banana, kale, and avocado into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries, strawberries, and stevia. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Advanced Berry Kale Smoothie

1 large ripe bananas, peeled

6-12 kale leaves

1/2 cup strawberries, frozen

1 cup blueberries, frozen

1 serving of stevia (optional)

1 cup pure water

1/2 cup of cream (coconut or dairy)

Pour the water and cream and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the strawberries, blueberries, and stevia. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Peachy Kale Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled

10 kale leaves

3/4 cup pineapple, frozen

1/2 cup strawberries, frozen

3/4 cup peaches, frozen

1 serving of stevia (optional)

1/2 cup pure water

1/2 cup cream (coconut or dairy)

Pour the water and cream and toss the banana, and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the frozen fruit and blend again until smooth. 1-2 servings

High Antioxidant Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled

2-4 large kale leaves

3/4 cup blueberries, frozen

1/2 cup pomegranate kernels, frozen

1 tsp Navitas Naturals Twister Power

1 serving of stevia (optional)

1 cup pure water

1/2 cup of cream (coconut or dairy)

Pour the water and cream and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries and pomegranate kernels, Twister Power, and stevia. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

Want even more recipes? Here are more kale smoothie recipes that you have shared with us. I hope that you enjoy these kale smoothies as much as I do!

Happy Blending!

Stock photos by Vecteezy

The contents are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This website is for sharing knowledge and information from the research and experience of DaNae. She encourages you to make your own health decisions based upon your research and discussion with your own qualified professionals.

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