Super Food, Quick and Healthy Spaghetti with Red Kale, and Crunchy Organic Cereal for the Grabbing

Kale is a true winter food. It grows well in the cold weather and offers the dense nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy in chilling weather. Here's the nutritional lowdown of this power food compliments of Wikipedia: Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale also contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.

So now you know why you should try to eat more kale, but what's the best way to do it? Well, some healthy diehards will tell you raw in a salad, but I find kale much too fibrous and too bitter to eat without some changes/additions, and it's likely you will too. The recipe below is a great way to eat kale, because you really won't even know you are eating it. After sautéing it, it mostly just adds a wonderful texture to the spaghetti. Throwing torn pieces into soup is a another great way to use it. Also, here are a few other great kale recipes the kids will love: Kale and Potato Spanish Tortilla and Kale Chips.

Recipe:

Spaghetti with Red Kale

Ingredients
1 small bunch organic red kale (or any other kale you can find)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
salt to taste
1/2 package of spaghetti
tomato pasta sauce
romano or parmesan cheese, if desired

1. Cut thick stems out of kale and discard. Coarsely chop leaves, then soak in water to clean. Spin or pat dry with towel. Heat oil in pan on medium-low heat. Add garlic and kale, and toss. Cook covered until tender, about 15 minutes, adding a little water and stirring about every five minutes to avoid burning or sticking to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and let cool.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, and let cool. To serve, put pasta, then kale on a plate. Top with tomato pasta sauce, toss, and sprinkle with cheese, if using.

Product:

Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Crunch Cereal

Encouraging your toddler to eat on her or his own is a great way to develop independence, and hopefully win back some of your me time too. Cereal, especially dry, is a super easy way to start. I suggest Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Crunch because it is organic, tasty, and relatively easy to grab, hold, and eat. It's also relatively easy to find. I've found it in the health food aisle of mainstream grocery stores, at Target, and at health food stores.


We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are. —-Adelle Davis