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I haven\u2019t eaten kale in just about a month. It\u2019s not that there\u2019s a kale shortage (there really isn\u2019t<\/a>). It\u2019s just that, well, I usually eat A LOT of kale. So I decided to see what would happen if I gave eating kale a break.<\/p>\n Not to sound like one of those<\/i> people, but I\u2019ve been eating kale since it was just a mildly unpalatable food Birkenstock-wearing hippies at health food stores ate back in the \u201880s and \u201890s. I worked at a health food co-op<\/a> way back then and on our caf\u00e9 menu was steamed kale. I resisted at first. For a long while, actually. But then like any self-respecting Dr. Bronner\u2019s soap using, brown rice and soy sauce eating white person from the east coast, eventually kale got the best of me.<\/p>\n Aside from the occasion where I found cooked spinach in my Indian food or in the surprisingly delicious Turkish spinach pies my boyfriend\u2019s mom would make, I\u2019d never eaten cooked leaves that I can recall. I\u2019d had plenty of lettuces in my day, but kale? (It would be years\u2013another decade probably\u2013before I\u2019d eat chard or collards.)<\/p>\n No sooner was I hooked on the leaf than it seemed the whole country was on a kale binge. All of a sudden, we\u2019re up to our eyeballs in kale. THERE ARE KALE CHIPS. I mean, seriously. In all my kalemania, I never would have imagined that Michelle Obama would go on Jimmy Fallon and sing about kale chips<\/a>! Last year, more than 260 newborns\u00a0were given the name Kale<\/a>. As in, people will call them KALE<\/em> forever, even when Celery<\/a> finally has its day. (Full disclosure: As a foodie, my daughter Imogene was almost named Ginger, Clementine or Rosemary. Her current nickname is a variation on \u201cPancakes.\u201d )<\/p>\n So to say Kalemania is out of control would be an understatement. Like many kalophiles, I now have kale radar as soon as I walk into any supermarket. No kale? I\u2019ll do my shopping elsewhere, thankyouverymuch, even if kale isn\u2019t on the list for the day (besides, I usually buy mine at the farmers market). It\u2019s a matter of principle. If a store doesn\u2019t sell kale, how concerned about its\u00a0customers\u2019 health can it really be?<\/p>\n Recently, after the false kale shortage <\/a>scare, I started to wonder if I\u2019d even be able to give it up. It\u2019s not like I have orthorexia<\/a> or anything. But you know, maybe I\u2019m just a touch neurotic about my kale.<\/p>\n So I did it. I stopped eating kale. For the last month I\u2019ve discovered new veggies and rediscovered old favorites. Sauteed cabbage with a little fresh lemon, salt and crushed pepper is incredibly satisfying (and a lot less expensive than kale). Swiss chard and zucchini are scrumptious stir-fried in olive oil and soy sauce and served atop brown rice (old hippie habits die hard). We made cauliflower steaks that were so tender and crispy that I a little bit felt like I would leave kale for its mild cousin forever.<\/p>\n Another thing I noticed was that when I cut down on my kale, I boosted up my fresh salad greens, which is a blessing this time of year when salads are just so deliciously seasonal. Arugula and watercress could take down kale in a flavor test every single time.<\/p>\n So, while kale is now welcome back into my diet, I have a feeling these other veggies will be taking up a lot of regular plate space as well. As they should.<\/p>\n Republished with permission from Eat Drink Better<\/a>. Image Credit: Eat More Kale<\/a> photo via Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"