Super vegetable – Kale

Kale has been touted as one of the super foods. Although more expensive and available only in selected stores in Singapore, the nutritional benefits of kale is astounding. Do you know that 1 cup of chopped kale provides the following?

9% of the daily requirements of calcium
206% Vitamin A
134% Vitamin C
684% Vitamin K ( an essential vitamin that supports blood clotting)

Kale contains 45 different types of plant vitamins including antioxidants. It is known to have anti-cancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to lower cholesterol. Kale also has a low oxalate content compared to spinach and this means that the calcium and iron are highly absorbed by our digestive system. I suffer from stiff joints occasionally and after a couple of weeks of including kale in our meals, I do feel less stiffness in my knees when doing my regular exercise. Even my gym instructor could see that I was more flexible when he helps me with some stretching exercises and I would tell him jokingly, “it must be the kale”. Why not try this super vegetable and see if it works for you? Kale is best eaten raw, lightly cooked or steamed. The kale leaves can also be dehydrated to make kale chips.

We began researching into the benefits of kale for dogs and learnt that kale is good for dogs too. We started adding a teaspoon of finely chopped steamed kale to our dogs dinner occasionally for added vitamins and minerals. We also came up with a recipe that incorporates this super vegetable in one of our treats. Our beef and kale jerky is made with lean Australian beef, organic kale and pumpkin and slowly dehydrated over 15 hours to ensure that the nutrients are not destroyed by excessive heat. You can order our beef and kale jerky for a healthy treat or add a few pieces to your dog’s dinner. It is definitely a healthier version of human ‘bak kwa’ and you can ensure that your dogs will be eating his veggies too!