Though I have fervently loved all the fertility and female-specific health books I have found in this absurdly large bundle sale, my favorite book ended up being a dark horse candidate, in the form of kale.

My favorite book of the bundle? The kale-centric cookbook Crazy for Kale: Glow from the Inside Out with 40 Gluten-free and Dairy-free Recipes by Hallie Klecker.

The book opens with a “Kale Primer.” What do we learn here? Way more than I thought I would.

First: kale is the member of the cabbage family that most closely resembles wild cabbage since the leaves do not form a head.

Second, there are many varieties, with the three most common being Curly Kale (also called blue kale by people like Whole Foods, and which comes in green, red, and purple varieties), Lacinato Kale (also called dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale, is flatter, more tender, and milder in flavor than curly kale), and Red Russian Kale which is the most delicate variety and better suited to things like salads as opposed to stews and soups like the other kinds.  Hallie professes to loving Red Russian Kale the best, and now I want to get my hands on some.

Then Hallie talks about the health benefits of Kale.  Nutritionists have talked our ears off about the health benefits of kale for ages. But they were right to do so.  Kale is wicked high in antioxidants, and also in vitamin K… one of the best and only sources of vitamin K in the diet.  Also vitamins A and C and manganese and iron and so much more. Kale is glorious!

Then comes tips on how to store, prepare, use kale in cooking, and use kale in smoothies.

And then: the recipes!  They include salads, smoothies and juices, side dishes, main dishes, snacks and sweet treats (oooooh!) which include delights like:

-Orange Greensicle Smoothie

-Green Breakfast Chiller

-Spiced Pear and Sunflower Smoothie

-Green Flu Fighter Juice

-German Meatballs with Kale, Carrot, and Rutabaga Hash

-Rainbow Humms Tostadas

-Sesame Kale and Beet Toss

-Kale and Strawberry Breakfast Salad

-Salmon Kale Croquettes

-Garden Pasta Toss with Creamy Horseradish Dressing

-Curried Carrots and Kale

-Cauliflower Couscous with Kale Pesto

-Sweet Potato and Kale Balls

-Pistachio Banana Ice Cream

-Kale Walnut Pesto

-“Milk” Chocolate Icing

-Pumpkin Confetti Cornbread Muffins

and Cinnamon Sugar Kale Chips.

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Kale is just about essential for optimizing kickass health and fertility, not to mention radiant skin, and for that reason I could not recommend more highly these absurdly nutritious and easy recipes. Very. Cool. Stuff.

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Crazy for Kale is a part of the unique, one-time holy crap is this for real Harvest Your Health Bundle Sale, which includes up to 84 natural health e-resources for just 37 dollars.  My own, new Birth Control book is included in that package.  Grab it now – only available until October 14!