Kale-Walnut Pesto Pasta

Kale-Walnut Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch Kale, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped

1 pound gemelli pasta

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a large pot of salted water, cook Kale until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the Kale to a colander and rinse with cold water.

Add the pasta to the pot and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Return pasta to the pot.

Meanwhile, squeeze the Kale to remove the excess water. In a food processor, combine the Kale, walnuts, garlic and parmesan until almost smooth; season with salt and pepper. With the machine running, add the olive oil.

Add the pesto mixture to the pasta, along with enough pasta water to loosen the pesto necessary. Serve sprinkled with parmesan, if desired.

Why Kale?

High in vitamin K (1300% of your daily value), vitamin A (354% of your daily value) and vitamin C (88% of daily value). Kales also provides special cholesterol-lowering benefits because the fiber-related components in Kale do a good job of binding together bile acids in the digestive tract. When this binding takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of cholesterol levels.

Kale also provides risk-lowering benefits for five different types of cancer: bladder, breast, color, ovary and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in Kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.

Kale is recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. Research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

And, researchers have identified over 5 different flavonoids in Kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, Kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress!