KALE IS PROBABLY best known in Ireland as ‘the green stuff’ in colcannon.

Now it’s lauded round the world as a superfood par excellence, but back in the day it was served up to many Irish families as a special Halloween treat – little did we know there was actual goodness  in there.

However, you don’t have to wait until October to get some of that leafy green tastiness into you – we’ve rounded up a selection of recipes to try out as well as a little information about the new (old) superfood on the block.

Source: SweetOnVeg

Here are just a few of the reasons kale is good for you:

• It’s one of the most nutrient dense foods in the world with 206% RDA of Vitamin A 
• It’s full of antioxidants
• It can help to lower cholesterol
• It’s high in vitamins like calcium and magnesium

Massaging kale

Apparently kale likes a little TLC as much as the rest of us. If you massage kale for 2-3 minutes with oil it breaks down the kale a little, wilting it (just a fraction) in front of your very eyes, and makes it more digestible for you. It also helps to remove a little of the intrinsic bitterness of the kale.

Source: Nutrition Stripped

You can eat kale raw in salads or cooked in a variety of ways. We have a few recipes to get your tastebuds tingling.

Superfood colcannon

Source: VegaTeam via Flickr/CC

Traditional colcannon is potatoes, kale or white cabbage, a little milk and lashings of butter. This is a far from traditional recipe for colcannon, but it does increase the superfood power of kale immensely and is ‘clean’ as well as vegan. Worth a try, we think.

Kale and pomegranate salad

Source: simpleprovisions via Flickr/CC

If you want to add a touch of the tropical to your kale, here’s a nice recipe that combines massaged kale (yes, it’s a thing) with pomegranates, cranberries, walnuts and honey for a superfood nutritious salad.

Tonic kale salad

Here’s another lovely fruity, nutty kale salad that’s easy to prepare and full of goodness.

 Kale chips

And just in case you thought kale was no fun, here’s a recipe for kale chips so you can have a crispy healthy snack whenever the mood takes you.

Source: Tumblr via nom nom paleo

Will you be experimenting with kale now? Have you a delicious recipe to share? Let us know in the comments below.