Finishing the Race

It is inspiring to me to connect with more and more people who are making fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies. I love hearing about the physical improvements…clear skin, healthier hair, blood sugars stabilizing. However, a reoccurring topic of discussion is, “My kale doesn’t last very long.” So I decided to repost some easy hints for storing your kale and chard.

How can you store kale so it lasts longer than a week? I apply the same technique that my daughter, who is a floral designer, shared with me for flowers that arrive slightly wilted from distributors. The stems are trimmed and the whole flower is submerged in water for about an hour.

Start by filling a large bowl with cold water. The bowl has to be large enough to submerge the whole leaf, especially the stem.

Cut approximately 1 ½ inches off the stem of your kale or chard. With each leaf, immediately place it into the bowl of cold water.

 

Once all your kale or chard is cut, you want to insure the leaves stay submersed, especially the stem tips. A plate usually does the trick. Although, if I have too many leafy greens in one batch, I’ve been known to set a wide bowl or a large pie dish with water to hold the leaves down.

 

After one hour, notice how the leaves rehydrate and perk up. The leaves spread out in the bowl as they drink the water. This restores the kale and chard’s firmness.

 

 

 

Remove the leaves from the water and carefully pat the kale or chard dry. Every drop of water does not have to be dried off. However, you do not want to store the leaves soaking wet or the leaves will decompose faster. I started adding two paper towels to the bottom of my dish to soak up any excess water. Once the paper towels are saturated, I dispose of them.

A 9×13 glass, baking dish with a plastic lid is a great size to store kale and chard.

Hope this helps. Blessings to your health!