KALE

Listed in Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 trending foods on the market, kale has taken its place as a great source of vitamins A, C and K with lots of iron, fiber and calcium. It’s easy to grow, fast and inexpensive and loves cool weather. In fact, it’s much easier to grow than tomatoes and peppers-Americas most popular homegrown vegetables. One cup of kale has more vitamin C than an orange and more vitamin K than spinach or broccoli. It’s good for the brain, your blood, the digestive system, your eyes and heart and, increases the calcium in your bones.

Sounds too good to be true but the truth is that I really don’t like the taste of kale; it’s too strong. It really is just another “fad diet” type food that has gained rapidly in popularity due to a “high sales” advertising agency-high to promote kale and all of its benefits. So if it has all of those great benefits, why would I sound so grim on the subject? Once again, I do not like the taste and I am insulted by the way it is being pushed by the kale industry.

So when you look at a product that is being talked about with such enthusiasm, you must ask yourself “where do I see it being used?” Is it in the restaurants, is it in the cooking shows, is it in the grocery stores-and how much space does the grocer give it? But to me, the real question should be is it at McDonald’s just as they brought in fresh fruit or any other giant fast food restaurants? If not, it may make you want to research kale just a bit more, or better yet, just try it and decide for yourself and get over the “it’s in style” hype.