What Is Kale?

Food, Hometown Cooking
on November 23, 2011

Looking to kick your diet up a healthy notch? Pick up kale on your next trip to the grocery store. Sure, it looks like a garnish, but it's also edible. In fact, kale is considered one of the most nutritious of the green veggies. Need more information? Read on to discover the facts about kale, why it's so good for you and ideas for incorporating it into your diet.

So, what is kale? Kale is a late season, cool-weather, cruciferous vegetable—a family of plants with four petals that grow in the shape of a cross. Other examples of cruciferous vegetables include the mustard, radish and turnip plants. Kale is also closely related to cabbage. Kale is grown all over the world and is very hearty. Many cultures include kale in their cuisines. Kale can be found in food from China, Greece, Canada, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, the United States and just about anywhere else you can think of.

Why is kale good for you? The World's Healthiest Foods considers kale to be one of the healthiest vegetables and recommends 1 1/2 cup of kale should be consumed two or three times a week. Kale is full of fiber and vital nutrients that have been linked to many important health benefits.

Nutritional Information. According to Self Nutrition Data and the USDA, a cup of chopped kale provides significant amounts of the recommended daily value for several nutrients:

  • 206 percent for vitamin A, a powerful antioxidant
  • 134 percent for vitamin C, an antioxidant that may also have anti-inflammatory properties
  • 684 percent for vitamin K, another anti-inflammatory agent (Note: anyone taking Coumadin must ask his or her doctor about how much kale is safe to eat as vitamin K interacts with this medication.)

In addition, a serving of kale provides 121 milligrams of omega 3 fatty acids, an excellent anti-inflammatory that's good for heart health. Kale also is rich in sulforaphane, a substance that may have anticancer benefits, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. And kale is a great source of carotenoids, a powerful antioxidant, states the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Kale may even be an agent in the body's detoxification processes, according to The World's Healthiest Foods.

Kale is delicious. There are endless possibilities when it comes to cooking with kale. With only 33 calories in a cup of chopped raw kale and zero grams of fat, many recipes can be nutritionally enhanced with kale, without worry of wrecking your diet. Need inspiration? Here are four amazing recipes you're sure to love.