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If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the nearly four years since we discovered a whole food, plant-based diet, it’s that being prepared is THE KEY to staying on track. My worst food decisions always happen when I didn’t prepare.
I like to keep some staple ingredients on hand and ready to eat so there are NO EXCUSES – and one of my favorites is kale! Not only is this a great way to sneak in some extra greens, but I find that kale stays fresh for at least a week, even after being chopped. You can watch the video here to follow along as I prep my kale or scroll below for a closer look at each step.
Before we get started – you may be thinking that you’d rather just buy a big bag of pre-washed and chopped kale from the store. I used to do that, but every time I would end up SO frustrated at the number of large stem pieces that I would find in these bags. By the time I picked through and sorted all of them out, I could have easily chopped and cleaned my own kale.
Enter a nice, fresh bundle of kale! My favorite variety is this Lacinato kale… otherwise known as dinosaur kale. It has such a great, deep green color and I just love this variety.
You can also use my prepping method for the standard, curly kale, but I highly recommend trying out dinosaur kale if you haven’t yet.
After you remove the kale from its bundle, simply make a small tear right in the middle of each side.
Then grab the kale in the middle and pull it off the stem on one side, followed by the other side. I find that tearing it in the middle like this just helps me rip it off more quickly.
You’ll be amazed at how easily the kale comes off the stems! You can use the stems in your compost or maybe feed them to a rabbit – assuming rabbits can eat kale stems 🤔.
Place your newly de-stemmed kale into a large bowl and fill it up with cold water.
Move it around in the water to get rid of any dirt or bugs. Carefully drain it out and repeat if desired.
LET’S CHAT ABOUT … BUGS!
Kale is known for having tiny bugs called Aphids. There’s nothing worse than getting home a nice, fresh bunch of kale only to discover it has these creepy little guys hanging out in it. Trust me – there’s no one who hates bugs more than me. And the worst part is, they don’t usually rinse off in just plain water. They love to hold on. It’s best to inspect carefully before you purchase, but in case you do find some in there – do not fear!
During the rinsing step, simply add a generous amount of table salt to the water and stir around. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, rinse, and repeat as many times as you like until you feel like most of the bugs are gone. If a few slip through the cracks, it won’t kill you, but I know I hate the thought of eating even one tiny bug.
Use a salad spinner to remove any excess water from your clean kale. I have the world’s tiniest salad spinner, so I do this part in small batches.
The key to keeping it fresh is to remove as much excess moisture as possible. Pat try with a towel or just let sit out for 30 minutes or so to fully dry.
I prefer my kale chopped into tiny pieces. This makes it really easy to throw into dishes or make a chopped salad. You can grab a handful of the chopped kale and add it to a soup, salad, or any other dish you want to add some extra greens to! Plus, chopping it into smaller pieces will give you a head start on making it less “tough” to chew on. We have several recipes coming out soon that use this method of chopping kale.
I actually use my veggie chopper to chop up the kale. The first time I tried it, Brian thought I was crazy, but it works surprisingly well! I simply take a few pieces and roll into a little ball, then place on the chopper and chop! Do be careful – those blades on the chopper are SHARP and you don’t want to press down towards them when placing your kale on the chopper.
And just like that – you have a nice, large bowl full of freshly chopped kale! I store in my fridge in a 10 or 18-cup Tupperware mixing bowl with the lid on and it keeps fresh for at least a week. If you find any excess moisture building up in the bowl throughout the week, just add a folded paper towel in there to absorb.
TO MASSAGE OR NOT TO MASSAGE…
It is also worth noting that I do NOT massage the kale PRIOR to storing it. I find that pre-massaged kale does not stay fresh for as long. When I use this in hot dishes, I don’t bother massaging it at all since the heat causes it to wilt anyway. If you want to eat it raw, simply use your hands to massage the portion you are going to eat right before you use it.
Be sure to check out the video here and leave us a comment to let us know what you want to see next in our Plant-Based Basics series!
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