Bodhimed

I never thought I'd see my kids fight over kale.  Everytime I make these kale chips, however, I wish I had made a whole bunch more.  There's a million ways you can make them, and when I look around the Internet, I discover more combinations I'd never thought of.  If you're not already on this kale bandwagon that's sweeping the nation, get on board right now and go make some!

Nutritional Benefits of Kale

Kale is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat.  In only one cup of kale, you get 192% of your daily allowance of Vitamin A, and 88% of your daily Vitamin C.  It contains 10% of your daily requirement of fiber and calcium as well.  The phytonutrients in kale, along with the antioxidant properties of Vitamins A and C, make it a very effective defense against free radical damage, aka cancer.  Kale actually helps to detoxify the body of harmful chemicals.  With all of these benefits and low caloric value, the more you can eat of this stuff, the better.  So make way more of these kale chips than you'd planned!

Basic Kale Chips Recipe

Wash and dry at least one bunch of curly kale.  Cut the leaves off of the stalk and into small-ish pieces. Think chip-size!

Toss the kale pieces in extra-virgin olive oil and some Celtic or Himalayan salt.

Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 250 degrees.  Enjoy until they're gobbled up by everyone else.

Kale Chips Variations

I've tried several variations on the recipe that were also great.  Get creative, and share your recipes in the comments below!

Always use olive oil, and try adding:

Parmesan, garlic and lemon juice.

Tamari and nutritional yeast.

Crushed almonds, balsamic vinegar, and bread crumbs.

These days it's trendy to sneak nutritious ingredients into kids' meals.  While I'd prefer that my kids willingly and happily enjoy vegetables in their natural state, I also appreciate the versatility and convenience of a protein-packed sauce.  I love sauces because they make everything taste better and can really complete a meal.  This Yumm! sauce recipe below was introduced to me by friends in Eugene, Oregon where, for obvious reasons, it is all the rage.  Try it over steamed veggies with rice, as a dip for raw carrots and cucumbers, or any other creative use you can think of.  Your kids really will say "Yummmm!!!"

Yumm! Sauce Recipe

• 3/4 c. melted coconut oil (or organic canola oil)
• 1/2 c. roasted almonds
• 2/3 c. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 c. cooked garbanzo beans
• 1/3 c. cooked soybeans
• 1/2 c. filtered water
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 2 or more (or many more if you are like me) garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro (To be honest, I skip this because I am not a cilantro person and it still tastes great.)
• 1.5 tsp. curry powder (optional)

Blend the almonds, beans, and oil in a blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until creamy and smooth.  Cover and let stand in the fridge for at least an hour.  Or just eat it right away.

I think it was Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live who once said "It's always something."  Now it's hexane in my veggie burgers.  Remember hexane? It's an air pollutant and neurotoxin that is a byproduct of gas refining.  Before you start to feel overwhelmed and pessimistic, read on.  There are a few ethical companies who make chemical-free veggie burgers that you can be happy to buy from, or you can take the bigger leap and make your own with this easy, awesome, protein-packed recipe below.

Hexane and Soy

A recent article in Mother Jones magazine publicized an investigation by the Cornucopia Institute into the use of the chemical hexane to produce non-organic soy protein isolate, texturized vegetable protein, and soy protein concentrate.  Hexane became famous as an air pollutant associated with oil refineries and is also a neurotoxin. 

What if I told you that there was a way to satisfy your sweet tooth without actually eating anything sweet?  By changing what you think of as sweet, you can really accomplish this.  Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese medicine both emphasize the need to include all six tastes in your daily diet, so we still want to acknowledge the importance of the sweet flavor, just not sugar itself.  Here's a revolutionary way for you honor your sweet cravings without feeding the desire for sugar.

Empty Sweets vs. Full Sweets

Traditional Chinese Medicine makes a beautiful and radical distinction between empty sweets and full sweets.  Empty sweets are treats containing any sweetener.  I'm talking raw sugar, honey, maply syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup.  You get the picture.  While some sweeteners are certainly healthier than others, the point is that they are still empty sweets.  They are called "empty" because while they momentarily satisfy a sweet craving, they do nothing to nourish our digestion, so we are left wanting it more and more.

I think a lot of you can relate when I say it can be challenging to figure out what to make for dinner every night. Especially when we're aiming to make something really healthy and tasty, and for the whole family! Recently I got the brilliant idea to throw all my favorite super-nutritious beans and grains in the crockpot and call it chili.  On top of natural corn chips and with lots of fun toppings, this awesome version of a tostada is high in protein, minerals and fiber, and is easy and quick to prepare. This nutrition-packed recipe is sure to become one of your favorites too.

Remember when you were a kid how you believed you could do anything?  Kids have an inherent ability to learn, appreciate and apply new knowledge when it's presented in a way that's exciting and fun. The ancient medical system of Ayurveda is particularly easy for kids to understand because it is simple and based in nature.  Most kids are totally grounded in their physical bodies.  They can relate directly when an explanation of health also describes the natural world they see around them. When I had the opportunity to teach Ayurveda to my son's class,  I had no idea that I'd be creating such a riot of epiphanies.

Can we really solve the national health care crisis with these two simple words: Real Food? I don't believe I'm oversimplifying things to say that we can make a huge dent in improving public health by supporting and encouraging a return to eating real food. By real food I mean identifiable, beautiful, natural, unadulterated and easy to pronounce food. It's almost hard to find it anymore, but it's out there and it's making a comeback. Do you know the difference when you see it? Is eating whole grain bread the same as eating whole grains? Does your body tell the difference between taking Vitamin C and eating a grapefruit? I'll answer these questions so you can navigate through all the nutritional health information coming at you in the media and make choices that benefit your health and public health policy.