Kale, Cauliflower & Fake Meatballs

Continuing on the tooth care plan, I was attempting to create another soft dish. While not like mashed potatoes, the cauliflower did soften up considerable, and with everything chopped up fine, the dish was easy to eat. The meatballs were a nice addition. This was a flavorful dish and served it’s purpose, and has potential for a do-over with other flavors (e.g. drop A-1, add parmesan and tomato).

¼ tsp coconut oil
40 grams kale, cut into smaller than bitesize pieces
1 T. chives, chopped
2 basil leaves, chopped fine
2/3 C c auliflower flowerets, cut up
1 oz white wine
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 egg whites
½ tsp black pepper
6 soy meatballs, Mama Mia by Gardenburger
3 oz yogurt, greek non-fat, plain
3 tsp A-1 sauce, served on the side

• Microwave on high for 4-5 mins, the cauliflower, chives, basil, wine and vinegar. Mash or mush into finer pieces, and set aside.
• Heat coconut oil in sauté pan and add the kale.
• Add cauliflower mix.
• While this is sauting, heat the meatballs in microwave according to package instructions.
• Add meatballs to the kale and cauliflower.
• Add egg whites and pepper and scramble.
• Serve and top with the yogurt. Serve the A-1 on the side and only use what you want to taste.

Rated a 3.66 on Kale Scale

Kale Top Potato

I’m still babying my tooth. It doesn’t hurt and isn’t sensitive to temperature, but I just don’t want to have more of the filling to fall out. So tonight I tried for something soft

1 potato, baked
¼ tsp coconut oil
½ C Kale, cut into smaller than bite size pieces
2 egg whites
¼ tsp Tumeric
¼ tsp black pepper
2 T. Olives, chopped
3 oz greek yogurt, plain non-fat
3 T. A-1 Steak Sauce
1 T. Butter

Bake the potato (in microwave 5 minutes, turn twice)
Heat the oil, and sauté the kale.
Add the olives and continue sauté.
Add the tumeric and pepper to the egg whites and then scramble with the kale.
Put potato on plate, cut in half and mash a bit. Add butter ( if you want to save some calories and fat grams, you can always do without the butter),
Top the potato with the A-1 sauce, yogurt and the kale/egg mixture.
Serve.

Rated a 3.5 on the Kale Scale.

Lentil Soup With Kale

A filling cracked after I got home from work. Until I see dentist, it’s soup!

I really like Amy's Lentil Soup. Adding the kale was a neutral - it didn't make the kale any better, but it wasn't any worse either. I rated it a 3 because as a vehicle for eating kale, it's merely adequate. And I do eat the whole can of soup for my dinner.

1 can of Amy’s Organic Soups/Lentil
½ Cup of Kale cut into smaller than bite size pieces.

Cut the kale into smaller than bite size pieces - I used my Pampered Chef Kitchen Shears, a great, versatile tool!!

Put soup and kale together in microwave safe bowl. I used my Pampered Chef Small Micro-cooker – another great tool.

Heat on high for 90-120 seconds.

Serve. Optional – serve with a dollop of non-fat plain Greek yogurt.

Rated a 3 on Kale Scale

Kale & Solar Quinoa Salad, Variation #1

To re-heat the cooked quinoa, I put it in a pouch I made of foil, added the fruit and a spritz of lime juice. Placed in a steamer basket for 5 minutes.

1 C Kale, ripped into bite size pieces
1 T. Tuscan Italian Dressing (Annie’s Naturals)
3 T. Carrot, grated
3.5 tsp. Chopped Olives, canned
1 serving Solar Quinoa (i.e. already cooked; leftover)
2 Apricots, dried, chopped
3 Dates, whole, pitted, dried, chopped
2 Mission Figs, dried, chopped
Spritz of lime juice

Toss kale and dressing together.
Add carrot and olives, toss some more.
Heat the quinoa, apricots, dates and figs (suggest steaming for 5 min)
Add to the kale, and toss.
Serve.

Rated a 4.5 on Kale Scale

Kale with Solar Quinoa

Another hot day, good for the solar cooker (yes, it really works!). In the black enameled pot, I put ½ lb fresh sockeye salmon in a little foil wrap and nestled next to that a ceramic soup mug in which I had 1/3 c quinoa, 1 Tsp each fresh orange and lime juice and 2/3 cup water. I called this “solar quinoa” and it makes 2 servings.



Placed the cooker in the sun at 1:30, and brought in at 4:30. It might not have taken this long to cook, but the extra time was no bother to the final product.


1 C. Kale, ripped into bite size pieces
1 Clementine orange, peeled and chopped up
½ Red Plum, chopped up
5 Grape tomatoes, halved
3 Tsp Walnuts, chopped fine
1 Tbsp Tuscan Italian Dressing (Annie’s Naturals. No added sugar. Yeah!)
1 serving of Solar Quinoa

Add the first 6 ingredients and toss.
Separate the salad, forming a hole in the middle and place in the hole 1 serving of Solar Quinoa.


Rated a 4.25 on Kale Scale.

Hot Day Salad

Today was 96 F. and much too hot to make much of a dinner. In preparation for making my lunches, I sometimes marinate, bake or grill boneless chicken breasts; cut them up and freeze. I used one of these for this salad. Weighed it, after I defrosted it.

1 C. Kale, ripped into bitesize pieces
50 Blueberries
½ Peach, chopped up
1 Clementine orange, peeled and cut up
6 Sprigs of cilantro, leaves cut up, stems tossed out.
2 oz. Chicken breast, boneless, marinated and baked
1 T. Dressing, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (Safeway Select)

Toss all ingredients except the dressing and chicken.
Add dressing and stir up the salad.
Add chicken.
Serve.

Rated a 4.5 on the Kale Scale.

Kaled Muesli

Had some extra time this morning which prompted me to consider how I could add some kale to breakfast. I usually have muesli or oatmeal (both from Bob's; it's the best). I upped the serving size of the muesli to 1/3 c from 1/4 c to have enough to mix with the kale. I weighed the kale after I stuffed it in the 1/2 C measure and it came out to 21 grams. I thought the pecans would be an needed item to help get this mixture down - but, really, wasn't necessary. When I eat my muesli and fruit, I am usually grabbing a bit of yogurt with a bite full of muesli on my spoon. The kale didn't get in the way of my muesli, and I could probably have added a cup and gotten my daily serving out of the way.

1/3 C Muesli, Bob’s Red Mill
3 Strawberries
50 Blueberries
½ C Kale, ripped to bite size pieces
14 Pecan halves, chopped
up to ¼ C Water, boiling

1 C yogurt, Dannon Lit’n’Fit Vanilla, optional. (The nutrition info includes the yogurt.)


Put the muesli in a bowl. Pour in just enough hot water to moisten. Stir and let sit.
Put kale in a steamer and steam for 2-3 minutes, or as desired.
Chop strawberries and put on top of muesli. Add blueberries.
Add steamed kale. Mix it all up. Serve.

Optional – serve with yogurt.

Rated a 4 on Kale Scale.

Pear-Kale Saute

1/4 tsp Coconut oil, divided
1/4 C Onion, chopped
1/3 C Fennel bulb, chopped
8 cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/2 Pear, choppped (Red pear)
1 egg and 1 egg white, beaten together
1 C Kale, ripped to bite size
12 sprigs Water cress

• Melt 1/8 t. oil, add onion and fennel. Brown.
• Add tomatoes and then pear. Continue to saute.
• Remove this mixture and set aside.
• Add 1/8 t. oil, add eggs. Chop into fine pieces as cooks.
• Return the veggie/fruit mix to the pan, and mix all together.
• Place Kale and Watercress on top.
• Add wine.
• Cover and steam/wilt the Kale and Watercress to your desire.
• Serve.

No nuts on this one. No dressing. It was still pretty good.

Rated a 3.75 on Kale Scale.

July Kale & Fruit Salad

1 C. Kale, ripped into bitesize pieces. Well packed Cup.

4 Strawberries, diced

18 Red grapes, halved

10 Watermelon balls, from fresh watermelon, with a melon ball spoon

3 T Carrot, grated. Actually used the peeler and peeled slivers from 3 inches of carrot tip. Peeled slivers down to the core. Cut these into thirds. I didn’t want to mess up the grater for such a small amount of carrot.

2 T Pecan halves, chopped fine. It was 14 pecan halves, once chopped was about 2 T.

2 T Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Dressing (Safeway Select)

Toss ingredients together, add dressing. Serve.

A pretty tasty one dish meal. My liking for nuts and dressing consistently add 200-300 calories per salad. But, it wouldn't be as tasty without!

Rated a 4 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Raspberry Minor

Before departing on a week vacation, I vaccuum packed the chopped kale, and the grapes in food saver canisters.

Wow! It really works!

Both ingredients were as edible as the day I preserved them.

1 C Kale, chopped, cup is packed
1 Nectarine, diced
2/3 C Grapes, halved
10 Raspberries
2 T Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Dressing (Safeway)
28 Toasted whole almonds, chopped in a nut chopper

Toss ingredients and serve.

This could have used more something, maybe carrots or tomatoes, or an apple or pear.

Rated a 3.5 on the Kale Scale.

Kale Veggie Salad

95 grams Kale, ripped into bitesize pieces.

This is about 3.4 oz. More
than a cup of well packed Kale, less than 2 cups. I weighed it
on my food scale.

½ C Corn kernels, canned
¼ C Carrot, grated
6 grape tomatoes, halved
7 olives, canned, pitted, halved
1 radish, large, sliced
½ Pear, chopped
3 slices fake bacon (Morningstar), cooked, broken into pieces
2 T Balsamic V and Oil Salad Dressing (Safeway Select)

Toss all ingredients except the dressing. Top with the dressing.

The mix of flavors was quite good. This is a lot of kale to eat for a serving of salad. The salad could have used more dressing as some of the kale was “dry,” but that would have added unnecessary calories and fat to the recipe.

Rated a 3.78 on the Kale Scale.

Coconut Milk-Veggies-Kale

Comments are below the recipe tonight.


¼ tsp Coconut oil
¼ C Onion, chopped
1 tsp Ginger, raw, shredded
¼ C Red cabbage, chopped
¼ C Celery, chopped
1 Orange pepper, diced
1/16 tsp Turmeric
¼ tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Cardamom
¼ tsp Black pepper
8 Sweet cherries, pitted, quartered
6 tsp White wine
½ C Coconut Milk, canned, lite
1¼ or 70 grams Kale, ripped into bite size pieces. (I weighed the kale that I stuffed, packed into a the measuring cup.)

• Heat oil and sauté onion, garlic and ginger;
• Add and continue sauté, cabbage, celery, and pepper for 1-2 mins.
• Add spices and stir up.
• Add the cherries and white wine, stir.
• Add coconut milk and turn down to simmer with lid off, stirring.
  
• Allow to simmer sauce down to reduce a bit. 5-7 mins seemed to work. You still need a bit of liquid to steam the kale.
• Top with kale, cover and simmer until kale is wilted to your desire.
• Serve and enjoy.

I used only 1/2 of the various spices from yesterday's recipe, and not sure if it was that or if it was the cherries, but the flavors didn't meld as scrumptiously as they did yesterday. I think if I were to put a sweet pepper in this mixture again, I'd rather do this as a salad and leave out the cabbage, and spices and sauce.

Rated a 3.6 on the Kale Scale.

Spiced Coconut Kale

I looked on internet for spices used for coconut dishes and found this spice mix. The spices and coconut milk in my recipe, with a sauce reduction to intensify flavors, made this seem like a ‘real’ recipe. But, actually, all of the ingredients I had on hand and tossed together. Here is a pix of the mix before adding the liquid.

1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cuminc
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
Dash of salt
Mix all of these spices together in a small ramekin, set aside.

¼ tsp coconut oil
3 T. onion, chopped.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tsp ginger, shredded fresh or from a jar of shredded ginger
¼ C red cabbage, chopped
1 large radish, sliced
¼ C celery, chopped
½ C canned garbanzo beans
18 black grapes, halved
6 grape tomatoes, halved
½ C coconut milk, lite. The can of coconut milk I opened yesterday, used today and another ½ C for a recipe tomorrow. It solidifies a bit in the refrigerator, like really soft ice cream.
1½ T white wine
1½ C stuffed with Kale leaves ripped up to bite size.

Heat oil and sauté onion, garlic and ginger; when limp or lightly browned:

Add and continue sauté, cabbage, celery, and radish for 1-2 mins.

Add and continue sauté, garbanzo beans, grapes and tomatoes, for 1-2 mins.

Add spices and white wine and stir up.

Add coconut milk and turn down to simmer with lid off, stirring.

Allow to simmer sauce down to reduce a bit. 5-7 mins seemed to work. You still need it to be a bit liquid to steam the kale.

Top with kale, cover and simmer until kale is wilted to your desire.

Serve and enjoy.

Rated a 4.5 on Kale Scale.

Coco-Curry Kale

The flavors combined in a pleasant, mild, and yummy way.

½ tsp coconut oil
¼ C onion,chopped.
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ C red cabbage, chopped
½ C canned garbanzo beans
1 large radish, sliced
¼ C celery, chopped
1.5 oz box raisins
Up to ¼ tsp cinnamon
Up to ¼ tsp nutmeg
Up to ½ tsp curry powder
1/3 C coconut milk, lite
1.5 T white wine
1-1 ¼ C stuffed with Kale leaves ripped up to bite size

• Heat oil and sauté onion, garlic and cabbage; when limp or lightly browned
• Add and continue sauté, garbanzo beans, for 1-2 mins.
• Add and continue sauté, raisins, radish and celery, for 1-2 mins.
• Add spices and stir up.
• Add coconut milk and white wine and turn down to simmer with lid off, stirring. Add more liquid, if needed.
• Top with kale, cover and simmer until kale is wilted to your desire.
• Serve and enjoy.

Toasted almonds, optional with this recipe. I chose to be almond free tonight. This turned out to be pretty tasty. The raisins and spice undertones in the sauce, were delicious.

Rated a 4.45 on the Kale Scale.