You’ve got to feel sorry for kale. A couple of years ago she was the star of the show, all crinkled and shiny in her dress of green, tossed into a salad here, whizzed into a smoothie there.  High in fibre, iron and a myriad of vitamins, kale was proclaimed to be a powerhouse of nutrition and the ultimate in detox. And yes, I was a believer. I too worshipped at the altar of the green goddess – I stirred strips of it into stir fries, steamed it to go with stews, crisped it into addictively crunchy chips in the oven. I even tried drying it outside with some cherry tomatoes on a  particularly hot summer day but  I dont think that was very successful. I was never fond of it juiced, the taste was too strong and bitter and the fibres clogged up my juicer and made it difficult to clean.

Then a couple of years ago her star began to wane. Kale Salad appeared on the wrong side of ‘Hot or Not’ food trends of 2014. Instead of bean sprouts, kale became the butt of jokes about vegetarians and I began to see articles such as “The Dark Side of Kale” and “Three Reasons Not to Eat Kale”. Reports emerged that kale contains small amounts of substances that can have a ‘goitrogenic’ effect, meaning they can affect the function of our thyroid gland. Aghast I read of the 88 year old woman who developed thyroid problems after eating 1.5 lbs (680g) of kale a day.

I began to imagine my life without kale, but just in time I remembered the quote from that Marigold Hotel movie ‘Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not alright it is not the end.’ Determined to find my happy ending I read more. Apparently the nasties, while active in raw kale become non-active with cooking,

and actually if your thyroid is healthy they are are not even very nasty. I know I have a healthy thyroid because I had it checked out when I was sure that my thyroid was the reason my size 12 jeans were becoming a tad tight!

Another reason kale got some bad press was because it can be hard to digest, particularly the curly type. But I have to tell you I am so excited about my newest kale discovery which I found on a post on my favourite food blog, Nutrition Stripped – Massaged Kale. Every time I mention this to friends or family they get the same raised eyebrows, amused look on their face and I am not sure what is going through their minds. I assure you there are no scented candles and essential oils here. Unless you are talking about olive oil, which is essential, along with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Then you just get your hands in there and start massaging. After a few minutes the fibres start to break down and the kale becomes all shiny and bright green, and starts to lose that slightly bitter taste that kale can sometimes have. You leave it stand for a while, anything from half an hour to the next day, and then throw in your fave salad ingredients  and dressing. Just don’t forget to adjust the seasonings on your dressing.

The first time I made a massaged kale salad I just added strips of avocado and sprinkled with hemp seeds – delish. Even the non-believers were impressed!

The next morning I served it warmed slightly, added  the mashed left over avocado,   topped with a poached egg and served with a spoon full of home-made pesto. One of my best breakfasts ever!

Unlike most salad greens massaged kale lasts for a few days in the fridge, so  I can make up a heap at the weekend, take it to work and have it with a can of tuna, crumbled feta or chopped boiled egg for protein.

So, kale lovers, how do you like your kale? Love to hear from you.