Green’s week: Kale, Feta and Carrot Super Toss

This is actually a very retro post. All the way back to December 1, 2010. However, today of all days, I had to pull it out of the archives. Don’t give me that I-don’t-know-what-you-mean face. You know exactly why! Admit it.  You had a boatload of candy last night and you need something healthy for dinner tonight. Then you can put the kids to bed and dig into their stash of Halloween treats again…..

I was a nightmare as a kid when it came to eating. I hated everything. I could name the list of things I wouldn’t eat, but it would be easier to inform you of the stuff I did: pasta, chicken, bananas, bread, cheese and condiments. That’s it. My father still tells the story of how he insisted I try butternut squash one meal. He placed a teaspoon full on my tongue at the dinner table and announced I couldn’t be excused until I ate it. As family lore goes, I sat at the table, tongue sticking out, refusing to eat it for over an hour. (It was actually only about half an hour.) Eventually, my father couldn’t stand it and allowed me to be excused. I cleaned my tongue with a napkin. Today my parents comment about how lucky I am since my kid is such a hearty eater.  And, now as a parent, I fully understand the anxiety associated with the whole nutrition thing. So please allow me to formally apologize to my parents here. I’m so sorry Mom and Dad. Also, since we’re apologizing here, sorry about that big party I had when you were out of town my senior  year. The police didn’t stay long.

As an adult, I can still remember my great disgust with greens. Even though my daughter is willing to try and eat them regularly, I attack most meals with my old habits in mind–always trying to design entrees that will be appealing to Scarlett and balanced with flavors she enjoys. I’m not sure if you could have gotten me to try this recipe adapted from my Whole Foods app, but I’m positive of one thing. If  it made it past my lips, I would have really enjoyed it. Maybe even cleaned my plate. It’s deceivingly flavorful.

Kale, Carrot and Feta Super Toss

2 carrots, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup of water
1 cup crumbled feta
1 cup of brown rice, prepared according to packaging (I used chicken broth instead of water.)

Method

In a deep skillet combine, water, kale, onion, carrot, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat. Uncover to toss twice, and cook until greens are wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and toss with feta. Spoon over brown rice and serve.

I adapted this recipe from one that I found at Whole Foods. You could easily speed the process up by substituting frozen, chopped kale and using an instant rice. I’d just cut the water amount used in the skillet in half.

Scarlett worked on Christmas crafts as I chopped and grated our ingredients, but she was keen to add everything into the skillet (with the heat off, of course).

Once you have everything in the pan, the cooking process is quite fast. If you take those shortcuts I mentioned, this is surely a quick and tasty meal.

You may even get your kids to eat a super healthy portion of their greens. If not, don’t stress. And definitely don’t use my dad’s method. As I mentioned, that really didn’t work.