Eat. More. Kale.

" Deck the plates with piles of kale... falalalalalalalalala

Tis the season for immunity to fail... falalalalalalalalala! "

It truly is the season when everyone gets something - gifts abound, stockings are filled, and germs invade. I don't get a flu shot. I don't give the girls a flu shot. But we do what we can to give our immune systems the fuel they need. Here are my top cold-season must haves:

1. Elderberry juice (local, of course)

• It's not the cheapest little serum, but a little goes a long way. I give the girls each 1/2 tsp per day, usually mixed into their smoothie but they'll down a spoonful if needed. High in vitamin C and touted as a good antioxidant.

2. Kale

• It's green and lovely. We eat it in soups... I loaded lasagna with it... it makes the best fresh salad... and we're pretty much green-smoothie-a-day folk.
• Smoothie:
• 2 C organic fresh kale
• 1 C organic whole milk plain yogurt
• 2-3 organic oranges; peeled
• 1-2 organic frozen bananas
• 1 C organic frozen mango or pineapple
• Kale Salad (which we fondly call "Kay's Kale Salad", as she introduced us to it)
• 1/2 bunch organic fresh kale
• 2 T toasted whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/3 C finely grated parmesan
• Dressing:
• Juice of 1 organic lemon
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1 garlic clove; pressed
• Pinch of kosher salt

3. Vitamin D

• John, the girls, and I all take Vitamin D supplements daily. We're getting less sunshine these days and a little boost can't hurt.

4. Sleep

• Non-negotiable. The girls are in bed by 7:30... usually asleep by 7:33. And if bedtime is bumped back, their daily rest often turns into a nap. If we know we're going to be up later than usual, we take a nap that afternoon as a proactive measure. I don't do tired - not me, not my kids. 

Knock on the Christmas tree, but we are doing good thus far! There has been a lot of coughing and sneezing at family gatherings the past couple of weeks and, while John got taken down for a few days, the rest of us are feeling a-okay, which is good because last Friday was a big deal: first piano recital! The girls are loving lessons and doing fantastic. They showed no signs of nerves or anxiety - marched up and played their two pieces each like pros. Elise, after seeing another student very nervously struggle to get started, turned to Gran and whispered "this must be her first recital". Yes, sweet child, just like it's your first one as well! And the day after, while riding in the car, Abby said "that piano recital was so much fun". 

Foodie Friday: Kale Salad

• 3-4 leaves organic kale; shredded
• Heat 1-2 T olive oil in pan
• Sprinkle red pepper flakes in pan (amount depends on your heat preferences)
• Add kale to pan and toss in red peppered olive oil
• Saute until tender - I covered for a bit to steam slightly
• Toss kale with fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, organic avocado

Smooth(ie) Moves

My blender is probably the most-used kitchen appliance that we own. It was my life-line when making baby food, it grinds grains for Super Porridge, and it is our smoothie machine. We eat smoothies at least 5 times a week - sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for a snack, sometimes we pour them into the Zoku popsicle maker, and sometimes they're dinner. You can seriously make a smoothie with almost any ingredients and I personally find them to be a dietary staple. Here are two of our current faves:

The Greener the Better

• Organic kale
• Organic Greek yogurt
• We've starting eating Wallaby Greek yogurt - The Merc recently starting carrying it and it's one of the few organic Greek yogurts that is actually strained instead of adding pectin to thicken it
• Organic frozen fruit
• I like to use any combination of bananas, pineapple, peaches, or mango because it allows the green color to remain vibrant. But that's just me!
• Organic juice
• Orange, peach, or apricot are nice
• Maybe a few ice cubes, if you want it colder

Figs are Fun

• Frozen organic banana
• 2 T (or so) organic almond butter
• Organic apricot juice
• Organic Greek yogurt
• 5-6 organic figs
• Maybe a few ice cubes, if you want it colder

As you can see, I don't ever measure - it's more of a chop, toss in, pour, blend, add, blend, drink. But the fig smoothie - yes, please! The girls and I devoured that one! It's only noon, and I've already used the blender twice today. Who knows what the afternoon will bring! :)

Kale Chips and Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast? Seriously? Sounds whack, I agree. I first encountered this term "nutritional yeast" in my absolute favorite baby food book, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I reference this book on occasion to this day, and it's no secret that Super Porridge is STILL a staple in our diet. Anyhow, this book talks about all kinds of additions to baby foods, such as nutritional yeast. I never went that crazy when feeding the girls - I mean, I went porridge-with-pears-and-spinach-and-hardboiled-egg-crazy, but yeast was reserved for baking bread. Then I found this recipe for Kale Chips, which calls for nutritional yeast. And you know me - I love to try new (and strange) things in the kitchen. I simplified my own concoction and we are hooked - nutritional yeast and all.

Kale Chips

• One bunch of organic kale (I often buy the fairly curly kind because it is a thicker leaf)
• 3 T organic olive oil
• 2 T low sodium organic soy sauce
• 1 tsp Bragg organic apple cider vinegar
• 2 T nutritional yeast (found in the bulk section at The Merc)
• Wash kale and tear off of stalk into 2-inch-ish pieces
• Combine olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, yeast
• Toss kale with sauce in a bowl; use hands to make sure kale is evenly coated
• Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; toss/flip chips over; bake for 15-20 minutes more
• I typically start removing some of the smaller pieces as they are crisping after 25-30 minutes, letting the bigger pieces bake longer

I can't lie - the nutritional yeast is a bit of an oddity to me. This combination of ingredients gives them a salty taste like chips (the soy sauce) but with a cheesy flavor (the yeast). They are by far the best kale chips we've made and the whole family devours them. These kale chips have been showing up regularly for post-nap snacks - they are quick to throw together and it gets yet one more super veggie into the girls. 

We are just coming off of our first illness since the pneumonia attack in early March. After that whole debacle, the slightest cough, sniffle, or whimper in the night makes me cringe to this day. The girls were in perfect health all summer and their eating habits are nothing shy of incredible. I expected the runny noses and the cough to linger for weeks this time around, again. But they didn't. The girls bounced back quickly, they never missed a meal while sick, and we only encountered one rough night each last week. So "Cheers!" to those super veggies and mega fruits, those whole grains and home-cooked goodness. I truly believe that every meal matters.

Kale, corn, and curls

Happy Spring Break! (well, to me, anyhow!). It is sunny, windy, warm, and the hairs in this house are a-curlin', the most tell-tale sign of warmer weather and returning humidity. Along with the springy locks, this time of year brings a whole new feel to cooking, which often times is a feeling of "Do I have to turn the oven on?" and "Do we have to come inside in order to get dinner ready before bedtime?". Last week I threw together a super simple Chicken and Couscous dish. It was a big hit and took very little time. I served it with kale chips, which the girls devoured (thanks, Liisa, for the kale chips idea!).

Couscous with chicken, green beans, and corn

• 1 Cup Israeli couscous
• 1-2 organic/free range chicken breasts
• Organic chicken broth
• Frozen organic corn
• Fresh organic green beans
• Local honey
• Balsamic vinegar
• Organic olive oil
• Toast couscous in a dry pan until it starts to brown and smells toasty; add 2 1/2 cups chicken broth and simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes (can add more broth if needed; simmer until couscous is done)
• Slice chicken into strips and marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes
• Marinate with honey, balsamic vinegar, and a splash of chicken broth
• Cook chicken on stove top with a bit of olive oil; remove from pan when done
• Cut fresh green beans into 1 inch pieces; saute until they start to soften
• Microwave the frozen corn a bit; add to green beans
• Add cooked chicken
• Serve over couscous

Kale Chips

• Wash organic kale, dry, and tear into pieces about the size of chips
• Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt
• Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes until crisp - be careful as it's easy to burn these little babies

Kale - from smoothie to soup

The kale-a-thon continues! As you may have seen, it reigned supreme in smoothies, and last week the mighty, mighty kale came through in soup! I've often heard the word "rustic" used in reference to various foods and I think that word would be appropriate for the kale and potato soup I made - it was basic, it was simple, and it was really tasty!

Kale, potato, and carrot soup

• 1/2 organic onion, diced
• 3-4 organic carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves organic garlic, pressed
• 3-4 organic potatoes
• 2-3 C. organic kale, chopped
• 4 C. homemade turkey stock 
• kosher salt, pepper, dried thyme and basil
• handful organic barley (uncooked)
• Saute onion and carrots in olive oil, seasoned with thyme and basil, until onions become transparent
• Add potatoes and saute for a few minutes
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant
• Pour in stock (I had it warming on the stove so it would keep the temp up)
• Add kale and cover for a few minutes, just until kale starts wilting
• Stir in kale and add barley
• Simmer all together until barley is done, about 35-40 minutes
• Season with salt and pepper, serve with a dollop of plain organic Greek yogurt

Brinner... without syrup????

Brinner (breakfast for dinner) is such an awesome cushion when we've had one of those days that just hasn't allowed time to cook a meal. While Brinner typically involves syrup for us, I decided to bake up a little frittata action this week to satisfy our needs, accompanied by the beautiful green smoothie you see to the right. :) The frittata was a combination of recipes - I have one in my recipe box from my Mom that I used for the baking time, oven temp, cheese, and overall process; I also just got my Everyday Food magazine and it had several frittata recipes, which inspired the idea. And the green smoothie... per a friend's recommendation (thanks, atlanta!), I picked up some fresh kale instead of spinach last week. Well, wasn't I surprised! Kale is so much tougher than spinach, with thicker leaves, but it blends up beautifully in a smoothie. I actually think the taste is milder, as well, so we've been drinking kale all week!

Ham, Leek, and Potato Frittata

• Cut potato into small chunks (1-inch or smaller) - I used one large organic russet potato. Toss chunks in olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and bake until a nice crisp edge forms all around. I started the oven at 350°, then increased to 400°, and up again to 425°, finishing by turning the broiler on to really brown up the tops
• Chop 1 large organic leek and saute in olive oil
• Cut antibiotic-free ham into small pieces
• Mix together:
• 6 organic, cage-free eggs
• 1/2 C. organic cottage cheese - I tossed the cottage cheese in the blender first until it was smooth. I haven't blended cottage cheese before, but the girls have never been a huge fan of the texture. It blends up to an extremely creamy consistency
• 1/2 C. shredded cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Butter a 9-inch pie plate; cover bottom with pre-baked potato pieces, sauteed leeks, and chopped ham; pour egg mixture over the top
• Bake uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes

Kale Smoothie

• 2 C. fresh organic kale; chopped
• 1 fresh organic pear (without skin)
• 1/2 organic banana
• 1/2 C. organic yogurt
• Frozen organic blueberries and strawberries (the frozen fruits help smoothie-it up; without it blends to more of a juice consistency)
• Orange juice

Last night for dessert, I served a green milkshake. Yes, I am admitting right here that I placed kale in the dessert category. I know - seriously? Abby is an eating machine right now and after polishing off seconds at every meal, she looks up, tilts her head to the side, puts her hands up and says "Something else?". I made homemade vanilla ice cream over the weekend, so I tossed that in the blender with kale, OJ, and frozen fruit. Totally sounds like a dessert item, right? It was just the "something else" that Abby needed and, upon polishing off her portion, Elise inquired "vitamins in here?". Now how often can you answer "YES" to that question when you're talking about dessert??? Pat on the back, Momma. Pat on the back!