Kale is one of the heart healthy foods that provider protection against cancer protection and helps in lowering cholesterol. If you haven’t gotten on the kale bandwagon yet, you may want to give it a try. Just one cup of chopped kale exceeds your entire daily requirement for vitamin A, C, and K and all this for only 33 calories!

This dark leafy vegetable can easily be incorporated into dishes (just as you would eat spinach with egg white omelets, stir-fries, salads, pasta, smoothies, soups, or pesto). Since warm foods tend to be more appealing during the cold winter months, give kale a try in this week’s featured heart healthy recipe, Warm Kale Salad.

Recipe

Warm Balsamic Kale Salad

Saute your vegetables with balsamic vinegar for a low calorie flavorful sauce.

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced.
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 2 portobello mushrooms with the stem and gills removed, sliced
• 4 cups of fresh kale with the stemmed removed
• 2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons of asiago parmesan cheese
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, add the olive oil, garlic, onion, bell peppers and portobello mushrooms, and saute on medium until the onion is translucent. Add the kale leaves and balsamic vinegar, and saute the kale until warm, but not yet wilted. Remove the warm kale salad from the heat and place into two bowls. Sprinkle both salads with 1 Tablespoon asiago parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper. Warm kale salads are ready to serve.

Nutrition Per Serving:

Calories: 210 kcal
Fat: 8g
Cholesterol: 8 mg
Carbohydrate 31 g
Dietary Fiber: 7g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 113 mg