Kale & Kale Salad

Loaded with antioxidants, calcium and fiber, kale deserves to be as popular as its cousins spinach and chard. Here are some tips on how to get the most from this sometimes intimidating vegetable:

Select: There are seemingly endless varieties of kale, but some of the most common and tasty include curly, Tuscan, and Red Winter. Colors, which range from green to purple, should be as vibrant as possible. Choose a bunch that's crisp and free of tears.

Store: Freshness makes a big difference in quality with this vegetable. New leaves are earthy and pungent, but as they age, they become more bitter. Keep wrapped in a dampened paper towel in your fridge's crisper drawer for no more than three to four days.

Prepare: Give the bunch a quick rinse, then rip the stems and inner veins from the leaves by hand and discard. The stalks are edible but many people don't like the chewy texture (we personally juice the stalks!).

Serve: Kale leaves can be treated just like spinach: sauteed in a pan with a bit of olive oil, mixed in raw salad topped with a vinaigrette, or tossed into a breakfast omelet or soup. Or, make a healthy snack by simply tearing apary the leaves with your hands and spreading them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and work the seasoning in the leaves with your fingers. Bakes at 300F for 7 minutes, or until crisp.

Nutritional value: One 1-cup serving of kale has 33 calories, 1g fiber, 21mcg folate, 329mg potassium.

Kale Salad

This raw kale salad wins over even the most skeptical of hearty-green newbies. It gets better after a night in the fridge. 

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 bunches kale, ribs removed and leaves sliced into 1/4-inch shreds
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs, toasted

Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper flakes. Add kale and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Add grated cheese and breadcrumbs and toss. Serve.
Cover and refrigerate leftovers for two days.

Serves 8.

Healthy Eating Tip #1

To help encourage you, we'll be posting healthy eating tips on a regular basis.

Healthy Eating Tip #1

If you have butter in your fridge, I am challenging you to throw it out & stop using it!! Instead, invest in cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and virgin coconut oi...l.

When cooking / sauteing something that normally calls for butter, replace it equally with cold-pressed olive oil. If you are baking something that calls for butter, replace it equally with the coconut oil (you can use coconut oil on toast in place of butter!).

These are very small changes but you will notice results! Why? Because Cold-pressed olive oil contains phenols & mono-unsaturated fat. Phenols suppress inflammation in the body. Mono-unsaturated fat encourages the release of fat from storage by increasing metabolism. Inflammation in the body is known to increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and many cancers. Dairy products, including butter, have been shown to increase the inflammation in our bodies. On the other hand, cold-pressed olive oil suppress & fights inflammation in our bodies :)

Coconut oil is an abundant source of medium-chain fatty acids... these triglycerides work wonders for a sluggish metabolism. Coconut oil has also been shown to balance blood sugars, as it supplies the body with energy similar to blood glucose, but without having a negative impact on our blood sugar levels (ie: coconut oil prevents blood sugar highs & lows). Coconut oil also contains lauric acid and this protects against one of the hidden causes of weight gain, which is candida (yeast). Candida causes symptoms like fatigue, poor concentration, sugar & carb cravings (as yeast feeds off of sugar).

Note: Olive oil & coconut oil that have been highly refined will not have this same benefit, so cold-pressed olive oil and unrefined coconut oil are the way to go!

New Year's Intentions

Now that the hustle & bustle of the holiday season is over, we at Eating Eden are in full-swing helping friends achieve their health  & wellness New Year's Intentions!

We don't like calling them New Year's resolutions... we like New Year's intentions better.

Why?

Because people set New Year's "goals" with the intention to do something, or the intention to change a behavior. When we view these goals as an "intention", they are something that we still need to do. If we view these goals as a "resolution", then they've already been done (or resolved).

More often than not, when we intentionally do something, we stick with it and follow through. Am I right?

Once we meet our goals, or achieve our intention, only then has the problem been resolved... and we end up with a resolution at the end of the process, not at the beginning of the process :)

 

Your goals seem too overwhelming for you? Completely unreachable?

1.) ALL things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26, Luke 18:27, Luke 1:37)!! Ask Him for a dose of strength & perseverence in this time and through this battle.

2.) Don't give up! God never gives up on us (Heb 13:5-6, Psalm 37:28). Don't give up on yourself. He believes in you! Eating Eden believes in you too! Believe in yourself. Believe in the promises that God has given each & every one of us... through Christ, we can conquer ALL things (Phil 4:13, Romans 8:37)! God's Word says ALL things... not some these or certain things. All things includes weight-loss, illness and changing eating patterns too!

3.) Change takes time. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day". Have patience. I know as humans we have problems with that. We want things now, and we want it our way. Ask the Lord for patience through the process.

 

Do not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

 

If we look forward to something we do not yet have,

we must wait patiently & confidently. Romans 8:25 

 

Hit a 'road bump' with your New Year's Intention?

 

Don't fret... the great thing is that you can start anew each & every day! Tomorrow is a new day so start again and get back on tract.

Can't get over the guilt from eating that piece of pie last night?
First, it's okay to forgive yourself.
Second, it's okay to treat yourself once in a while (I mean, really, who doesn't love pie?).
And third, hand that guilt over to the Lord. Know that you are going through this process to glorify Him, not yourself.

When we treat our bodies well and care about ourselves, we are caring for God's precious dwelling place. Remember, God dwells inside each & every one of us (1 Corinthians 3:16)!! When we take care of ourselves, we glorify Him! And, the Lord is here with you every single step of the way. He is walking right along side you, picking you up when you fall, holding your hand when you trip, wiping away your tears, and loving and forgiving you unconditionally.

When we are intentional about glorifying God through our actions, 
the resolution always comes to us as a Blessing.