If you love kale and have a hard time using it up, but don’t want to stock a bunch in your freezer (learn to freeze kale), there’s an awesome way to preserve kale for long-term storage and use it all the time!
Dehydrate and Crush It!
Those words sound so fierce, don’t they? But it’s really easy, even if you don’t have a dehydrator (but it sure helps when you’ve got a lot to do. Check out these instructions to dehydrate), and makes for some great boosts of nutrition when added to your food.
Before we get started, here’s WHY you want to use Kale everywhere you can possibly use it. It’s a Superfood. According to Web M.D.:
One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K — and sulfur-containing phytonutrients. Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds. Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.How to Make Kale Powder
1. Take your crispy, dehydrated kale leaves and load them into your blender
2. Pulse them over and over and over and over and over again, pausing to allow the leaves to settle. Then pulse some more. When I think I’ve pulsed enough, I move to blend. I want this stuff pretty powdery.
3. Pour into an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place.
It really is that easy. I do try to make sure I get any bigger pieces that have not powdered well and throw them back into the blender. Don’t ask me how long it can last. We’ve used it up long before we have to worry about shelf life. But if you’re going to be storing it long-term, consider putting it into smaller containers and using an oxygen absorber in your storage bottles or vacuum sealing them with a machine (the two major brands come with attachments to vacuum seal canning jars – it’s really the coolest thing!)
Don’t know how to dehydrate kale? Check it out here!
How to Use Kale Powder
- Take jar
- Open jar
- Insert spoon
- Collect powder
- Sprinkle it on
That was so easy, wasn’t it? Wait – you really wanted ideas, didn’t you? So here we go.
We add kale powder to:
Spaghetti Sauce – I sprinkle in 2 TB
Meatloaf or other casserole dishes – I sprinkle what looks to be a good amount liberally throughout mix or casserole. I eyeball it.
Eggs – we use it in scrambled eggs.
Salads – I use it as a sprinkle on top of my salads if I can’t get fresh kale to add to the mix.
Garnish – I garnish my dishes with this. I know most people will use fresh chopped parsley because of its ‘brightness’, but I choose to add a little extra boost of nutrition with kale. Sue me.
Smoothies – if I don’t have fresh or frozen kale left, I will use the powder, instead, and do a tablespoon per person
YOUR THOUGHTS? Do you get the idea? You can add it to ANYTHING! What are ways you love eating kale?
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