Monday, December 3, 2007

Cranberries and Kale for Lunch

Can you tell that I am a kale fan? :-) I was poking around the refrig wondering what to have for lunch. There is a ton of kale but what else? Finally I had a brainstorm when I looked at the small amount of the Cranberry-Rosemary Chutney that was still hanging around after Thanksgiving (the ultra-easy recipe is in an earlier posting).

Here's what I did:
Washed and coarsely chopped 5-6 cups of kale (no need to dry the leaves)
Chopped two green onions (white and green parts, in other words, the whole thing)
Diced ~2-3 ounces of tofu
Heated ~1 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan
Added the onions to cook for a minute or two
Added the tofu to onions, heated and shook a bit in the pan to keep all from sticking
Added the chopped kale, stirred with onions and tofu, stirred to keep all from sticking
Covered to steam for a minute or two (keep the kale bright green and just wilted a bit)
Remove cover, add ~1/4 cup of cranberry chutney to mixture, heat through and eat in a bowl to make sure you get all the delicious liquid, too.

Add a slice of whole grain bread to sop up any juices and some fresh fruit to your lunch for a complete hearty and delicious meal.

Yum, yum. I ate this all myself - it was lucious! I'll need to make some more of that cranberry chutney now so I can think of other ways to use it (I can already envision and taste the result of cooking it with acorn squash halves!).

How many servings of fruits and veggies was this? I'm not sure, 2, 3, 4 or more? In any case, I love the image of my body being flooded with the multiple cancer-fighting phytochemicals that are in the kale, onions, tofu, and cranberries. Don't forget that these phytochemicals also work to optimize overall health and fight the aging process, too. :-)

And speaking of images, this recipe is so beautiful in a bowl with its bright green kale leaves, little squares of white tofu and whole round bright red cranberries. It is a perfect December dish, actually reminding me of a Christmas tree strung with homemade strands of popcorn and cranberries.

Enjoy!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

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