We ate a lot of kale this week. So much, in fact, that my two remaining kale plants have been completely depleted and removed from the garden. Am I neurotic for feeling a little bit guilty about that? Farewell, Curly Scotch Kale plants! You served us well.
Here’s what I ate this week:
Sweet Potato Pizza with Kale & Caramelized Onions // It’s been so long since we’ve had pizza, so my husband and I were both in agreement that it was time to make one. This is one of our favorites. Even though it looks a little involved, it comes together pretty easily and it’s definitely worth the effort.
Baby Bella and Kale Casserole // I changed this one up a little bit–the original recipe called for large pasta shells and I stuck with that in my first adaptation, but now I’m subbing in small pasta shells. It’s a little bit easier to eat this way and the small pasta shells come in whole wheat, which I prefer to white pasta.
Middle Eastern Food! // My husband was on a business trip for a few days this week, and on his way home from the airport, he stopped at Neomonde to pick up dinner. I usually try to limit takeout to the weekends, but I can’t say no when it comes to pita bread and hummus. And Neomonde has the best caramelized onion and lentil salad–so good!
Oatmeal with Chai-Spiced Pear Applesauce // Yes, as you can see, I’m still trying to eat healthier breakfasts. No more breakfast pudding for me! (Okay, maybe sometimes I’ll still have pudding for breakfast. Sometimes!) Oatmeal is a little more labor-intensive than muffins, but it’s still pretty doable.
Strawberry Mango Fizz Smoothie // I love making these–they’re fairly low in calories and super easy to whip up.
My CSA has been giving me kale by the boatloads for months now.
The pizza and casserole look spectacular! I’m always so unadventurous when it come to pizza toppings. Thanks for the great idea.
I want boatloads of kale! I was bummed that I used the last of my kale plants this week. And I really can’t believe that you’re unadventurous with your pizza toppings–really!? You?!
Heh. What can I say, I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to pizza. Good dough, good sauce and good cheese makes for a happy Smedette.
I love kale, I need to try that pizza!
You do!
I’ve also made a pizza with vegetarian sausage and kale that’s really good too. I should post that recipe someday.
Oh my … mouth is watering and I’m dying to try out your kale recipes. Hubby is cooking tonight and after reading your post, I suggested he make pizza with … kale. So, that’s our menu tonight. Thanks for sharing!
I hope it turned out well! I love kale on pizza. I’m not a big fan of spinach (it’s alright, but I’m pretty meh about it), so a lot of the time I use kale instead. And the fact that I grow a ton of it helps too.
The cassarole looks awesome. I’ve gone wrong with kale, I’m ashamed to say
I tried to do kale “chips” twice and we disliked them…twice. We actually prefer it just raw and chopped into a salad.
PS…one of my basil seeds is starting to sprout!
I tried to do kale chips once and we didn’t like them either. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but they definitely didn’t turn out right. But I dislike raw kale too! Have you tried just sauteing it?
Yay for basil! I was just thinking today about how happy I’ll be when I don’t have to pay a fortune for it at the grocery store.
All of your eats look amazing but my favorite has to be that pizza! Wow…
Thank you! It’s definitely one of my favorite pizzas.
I love the idea of putting kale on pizza. I bet its a lot like kale chips (which I eat an entire batch in on swoop!).
YES! That’s what I wanted–I wanted the kale to get a little bit crispy in the oven, like kale chips. Although I can’t get kale chips to work out for me for some reason…
This all looks good, but the pizza is awesome!
Thank you! It’s one of my more popular posts, which is funny because I thought people would think the combination of veggies was a little bit weird. I guess not!
I love Kale, especially in a smoothie!
You have been so much more productive with your garden than I have with mine. Ever. I think you should plant some trees next – impress me with your green thumb!
I want to plant trees! We don’t have any in our backyard. I kind of want to get the fence in first though because it’s hard for me to visualize where things should be without it.
That pizza looks great!
Wow, you are creative with the kale. I just put in a soup or a salad but that pizza looks amazing! Everything looks delicious!
I have never had kale in a salad! I need to try that. I’ve read about it on a few other blogs.
Kale confuses me. Is it spinach-like? Is it mild? I’ve seen the kale chips and those don’t look good, but some of what you have here really does!
Someone commented on another post I wrote about kale being bitter, but I’ve never had that experience–I think it’s pretty mild. What I really like about it is the texture. I don’t like how spinach gets kind of slimy when you cook it. Kale is more chewy. I guess chewy isn’t really the word I’m looking for, but it’s definitely not slimy!
My family doesn’t like kale much unfortunately. I just bought a big bag and am going to use it for green smoothies this week, so at least I get some kale even if they won’t eat it.
I need to try making smoothies with kale! I’ve bought them, but never made them myself.
Wow, it all looks delicious. I have had kale in smoothies but never on pizza. Great idea!
I am definitely giving the sweet potato pizza a try. I bet hummus would be another good layer
One of our favorite local restaurants sells a pizza with hummus instead of sauce! I’ve never gotten it because it also has feta on it, but I’ve had the idea floating in my head for a while. And since the hummus would do a pretty good job of holding veggies in place, it would be an easy recipe to make vegan.
Is it bad that I’ve never had kale? I’m with you on the pita bread & hummus weakness though!
Well, I think the first time I had kale was maybe two years ago? So don’t feel bad.
My family wasn’t very big on greens, so I didn’t try most of them until I reached adulthood.
I too love middle eastern food. My daughter’s boss grows kale and I’m never quite sure what to do with it. You gave me some great idea here…thanks
You can do so many things with kale! I love it in lentil or veggie soup and it’s also great with pasta. You can also saute it with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The kale pizza and pasta look AMAZING! I’ve never cooked with kale before but I’m seeing so many others do it. I think your pizza might be my start to it.
I hope it turns out well if you make it! Kale is really easy to cook with–the only time I haven’t had it work out is when I attempted to make kale chips.
I’ve been trying to like kale for a long time but putting it on pizza is genius…I can overlook anything on pizza. That kale and baby bella casserole looks promising too. You may just get me to love kale!
Aw, how can you not like kale!
I eat just about all greens because I know they’re good for me, but kale is one of the few that I actually enjoy eating.
You know, I feel dumb writing it, but I didn’t even know you could eat Kale. I thought it was for garnish only. These all look really lovely!
The only time we had kale growing up was the ornamental kind that you’d put on your front porch in the fall! So yeah, kale is a recent discovery for me too.
I have yet to try kale! There’s this local shop that serves kale that tastes like korean nori and I really want to try it. I heard kale chips are pretty easy to make too.
One day… =)
Kale that tastes like nori? I’m intrigued!