Kale juice

Since I moved to New York, I have come to notice that people here are fad obsessed, particularly in relation to body image issues. They enroll in the latest and hottest mumbo jumbo celebrity workouts with the funkiest names ever like “Zumba!”, they follow the latest diet or un-diet (fasting) trends like the 5:2 diet, the master cleanse detox, lemon juicing diet, raw food diet…but what particularly caught my attention is the kale craze! New Yorkers love kale! They swear by kale juice, feast on kale salad and sandwiches and snack on kale chips. There’s even a National Kale Day (which happens to be today by the way, Happy Kale!). Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against kale and I’m actually a big fan myself of kale Tabboule and appreciate the nutritional benefits of this wonderful green veggie. I do feel however that there’s an excessive adoration of kale, which distracts from other interesting veggies that correspond to the same green category, have a very similar nutritional profile to kale and some are even more worthy of being singled out. So if you’re like me, tired of kale or even spinach but want to keep benefiting from the amazing nutritional and gastronomic qualities of green leafy vegetables, it’s time to introduce your cuisine to chard!

Chard is very comparable to spinach but with a bigger leaf and has a less accentuated taste than kale.  Just like the venerated kale and Popeye’s spinach, chard is a great source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium and potassium, contains iron, calcium and folic acid. Also note that it’s slightly lighter in calories than kale and spinach and is a good laxative and diuretic. There are so many ways to enjoy chard, here are some of my favorites:

Zesty chard with blackeye peas salad / appetizer

Chard and lentil soup (also includes zucchini, potato and onions)

Chard stuffed with a Tabbouleh-like mix

Chard dip (prepared in a similar way to hummus, but since we’re replacing chickpeas with chard stems, it’s lighter in calories)