I would go so far as to say that everyone needs to eat more dark greens. People get easily confounded by this category of food (kale, collards, chard, mustard greens, etc) with reason - they look wild, coarse, and untamed, too hearty to eat easily, and are renown as bitter or earthy in taste. But they are actually so simple to eat! And truly delicious! So healthy and nutrient rich! And look how beautiful! It’s a definite shame to pass them over at the market, so I wanted to offer a few of the easiest, no-cook ways to enjoy one of my very favorite greens and maybe the most popular of the group: Kale. I repeat – no cooking involved! Just be sure to cut the thick stems off before eating raw.

Avocado & Apple Kale

Curly kale, with one avocado, shelled pistachio nuts, lemon juice, and thinly sliced green apple. Place washed kale and diced avocado in a large bowl. Start massaging the kale and avocado with your hands until all the leaves are coated in an avocado mush. Combine with apples and squeeze lemon juice over everything. Toss again with utensils. Add pistachio nuts and black pepper, salt if needed. Enjoy! Even better the next day!

Tuscan Kale

Dino Kale (aka lacinato kale), with a dressing of 4 Tbsp olive oil, 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 mashed garlic clove, 2 Tbsp grated parmesan, pinch sea salt, pepper, red chili flakes. Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat well. Use your salad tongs to really mash the kale leaves and get the oil & citrus to start wilting the leaves, let sit for about 5 minutes. Top with more parmesan and enjoy!

Cranberry-Feta Kale

Dino, curly, or purple kale, dried cranberries, raw sunflower seeds, with a dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper. Again, let the dressing really coat all the kale leaves and let sit for 5 minutes so the leaves soften. Top with creamy, crumbled feta cheese. One of my favorite, last minute lunches!