Chia? Kale?

[jyoyo78]

I have two questions?

First, what is chia? And what do you use it for?

Also, I bought a HUGE bag of kale!! I know a lot of people use it for salads, right? Do you just use it as a replacement for lettuce? I was going to make some kale chips too. What do all of you do with your kale?

[asphyxia63]

I have just recently started using kale and I love it!!!
I use it raw for salads. I use it as a "bed" when I cook meat or fish, it wilts very nicely under the heat of the food. I also sautee it with either olive oil or butter substitute and other flavors like garlic or fresh squeezed lemon juice as a side or mixed up with some chicken or scallops. It's delicious! You can also steam or microwave it but don't cook for too long or it gets bitter and loses it's nutrients.

Chia I have not yet tried but was reading this thread about it the other day and plan on picking some up the next time I'm out!

[cottagebythesea]

jyoyo, check out that thread about chia that Asphyxia posted the link to. I think you'll find all the info you want about them.

As for kale, that was a veggie it took me a long time to like, until I started massaging it before using it in my salads. Just tear the leaves from the center stem (throw that part away - it's bitter) and sprinkle the leaves with a little sea salt, then massage them for 5 minutes or so. Then I make lovely salads with my favorite salad makings. I still don't like cooked kale, though.

[zeffryn]

kale is my favorite. i use it as a lettuce replacement (massaging it makes it a lot more palatable), in smoothies, roasted with some salt, wilted with lots of garlic and white beans. finding those big bags of pre-washed/chopped kale was a great day for me - i go through 2 a week between my 4 family members.

[jyoyo78]

Thanks for the link asphyxia, great info!! Guess I'll have to go buy some and try it out, sounds very intriguing. Maybe DH will eat them too...he takes both high blood pressure meds and high cholesterol meds....poor guy.

Cottage - thanks for the heads up on massaging the kale I'm going to try out some kale chips tonight. New things are so exciting!! Just hope the new things taste good...lol

[nat4crim]

Let me know how the kale chips turn out. I'm afraid of trying them for some reason.

[jyoyo78]

Kale chips turned out pretty good. I used too much salt though, so they were a little hard to eat. Also, the crispier they are, the better. Some of my pieces were crisp all the way through, so they took a little more chewing to get through them. The crispy ones though, sort of melt in your mouth. Will definitely make them again. Also, even though I bought a big bag of precut, prewashed leaves, I will be removing as much of the stem as possible, don't really like chewing on it either

[asphyxia63]

I just picked up a bag of chia at the store today and am in the process of making pudding, it looks very promising and i cant wait to try it!

[grneyedmustang]

I usually sautee kale in a little bit of onion, garlic, and olive oil. It's become one of my new favorite veggies.

[YeahYeah]

I want to like kale so bad, I just don't. Tried it sauteed yesterday with some turkey bacon and a laughing cow wedge, and ehhhhhhhh. I'll try to keep pretending and hopefully fake it til I make it.
Chia is fun, though! REALLY filling!