A delicious, easy and highly nutritious method that makes lent a fun thing to do (listen to the experts who fast all year round!). Kale pesto. Pesto is a classic Italian basil sauce for pasta with garlic and parmesan. Parmesan is replaced with pine nuts in this vegan pesto version, which gives a particularly creamy texture as seen in the picture, and basil is combined with kale, which is perhaps the richest vegetable nutritionally. It’s a vegetable that includes a high amount of protein, which is rarely the case with vegetables, a higher proportion of Omega 3 than Omega 6 fats, which is equally rare in nature and is also particularly rich in vitamins and trace elements. Kale is the king of the carotenoids, antioxidants. Its vitamin A concentration is excellent. One cup contains over 10,000 IUs, which is more than 200% of the recommended daily intake. Kale is also loaded with lutein, one of the most known carotenoids which is found largely in the eye’s macula, acting like a “natural sunscreen” and protecting from cataracts and age related macular degeneration.
Furthermore, its vitamin C concentration with more than 80 mg per serving is impressive. At 90 mg of calcium per cup, and because of its particular bioavailability, kale contains more calcium than cow’s milk per gram. A study on the bioavailability of calcium in milk and kale showed that calcium in kale is absorbed 25% better by the human body, despite the myth that cow’s milk is the supreme source of calcium. To be more specific, one gram of kale contains 1.35 mg of calcium, while each gram of cow milk containing 1.13 mg. The biggest difference, however, is that calcium in milk is accompanied by a sticky protein, casein. It is particularly difficult for mono-stomach mammals (such as humans) to digest, and therefore calcium is difficult or impossible to release. Furthermore, casein proteins require large amounts of hydrochloric acid to be broken down. Overtime, this can lead to metabolic oxidation that leads to calcium leakage from the body’s calcium stores (teeth, bones) which leads to a loss of calcium from the body. On the other hand, kale, like all vegetables, is alkaline and reduces the levels of trace elements that the body needs to maintain the balance of pH. Therefore, kale contains not only the correct form of calcium, but can reduce the body’s needs for calcium.
Kale is also a very good source of magnesium, which explains why it is so green. The deep, dark chlorophyll in its leaves contains a magnesium atom per molecule. Since we need a good balance of magnesium and calcium to make our body work properly, consuming magnesium is very important.
The taste of kale is not a taste that everyone likes because it is not prepared properly. To eat raw kale, massage it with oil to soften its leaves. The more you massage it, the more its green colour intensifies.
This recipe is an easy opportunity for anyone to add kale in their diet. Its flavour is masked by basil, and you don’t miss out on its benefits. If I did not convince you to add kale in your diet, you will also find a simple recipe for pesto without cabbage in the blog archives.
Kale pesto is also life saver during lent as you can have a jar in the refrigerator (maintained for up to a month) and make delicious pasta or sandwich. One of my favourite pasta recipes with this pesto is the following: boil the pasta and bake little pumpkin or sweet potato cubes in the oven. Keep some of the water boiling pasta (about half a cup). In a deep pot, heat 2 spoons of pesto. Add the boiling water to the pesto pot and then add the pasta and mix until all is mixed well. Finally, add the pumpkin cubes, some pine nuts, parmesan cheese (if you eat dairy products) and serve. The recipe is equally delicious when made with sun-dried tomatoes instead of pumpkin. You now have two delicious quick pasta recipes for those days when you are tired from work and don’t know what to cook.
Ingredients (for a jar)
– 2 handfuls of kale leaves
– 1 handful of fresh basil
– ¼ cup pine nut
– ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
– 2 cloves of garlic
– Juice of 1 lemon
– 3 spoon of edible yeast (to add a cheesy flavour)
– ¼ cup olive oil
– 1 tsp of salt
Preparation:
Blend all the ingredients in the food processor until they form a rich paste