Does Kale Fill You Up?

Kale chips are the best!!! Try making them! http://weelicious.com/2010/03/31/kale-chips/

Kale and all greens tend to fill me up. Plus, they are one of the best things for you! We eat dark greens every day around here.

Kale is nutritionally SUPER dense, it's absolutely loaded in nutrients. So it triggers the 'full' response very quickly :)

Lettuce, meanwhile (esp iceberg) is mostly water. Lettuce will satisfy thirst quite nicely, but it's essentially just fiber and water.

The more nutrients a food has, the less it takes to feel stuffed. Like cheesecake. That's rich in fats, but ANY food that is rich in something will trigger the "sated" response far far sooner than foods that are lacking. One reason why so many people overeat is that they're eating foods that aren't dense in nutrients. So they're "hungry" even though they're putting away mountains of food. Because they HAVE to put away those mountains of food to get the same nutrients. Doesn't matter if it's 1000 calories or 5000 calories... the body won't say "done" until it gets what it needs!

((Yes. I'm a big geek.))

My 2 favorite ways for kale are:

Flat Leaf / Dinosaur Kale
Wash
Flip upside down and cut out the center vein
Stack leaf halves on top of each other
Cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide
Heat up some olive oil and garlic in a big pan on high, then turn down to med
Sautee
Salt & Pepper
Serve warm or cold

((This is the way I cook all my greens EXCEPT collard greens))

Lacy Kale

- Wash & Prep same as above but don't worry too much about the strips because of the lacy part. Cut into strips, sure, but don't worry about size!
- Olive Oil & Garlic on High
- TURN DOWN TO LOW
- Add Kale
- Walk away

In some random period of time... you've got Kale Chips!!! Add some kosher salt, some pepper, and munch munch munch!

I love kale...it is my all time favorite green! I use it in lots of things that I make...add it to soups, saute it with garlic and olive oil, crush it and make a salad with it (you have to massage it or crush it first to have it soften up a bit) with a homemade lemon dressing. I just tried kale chips and they were so yummy...my 2 year old ate a TON. I will have to make those on a regular basis!

it has more fiber than lettuce and fiber can make you feel more full. I also think nutrient dense food can turn off your eating mechanism sooner too. So yes, it probably can have the effect of being more satiating than lettuce. Have you ever heard of the full plate diet? There are a few groups who say if you eat 35-40 grams of fiber per day, you'll achieve a slim figure since one is unlikely to overeat on high fiber foods. I tried it. Did not work for me, but if you have more than 10 to loose it probably works great.

Kale is a "green" not lettuce - so it has ALOT more nutrients. :) I like it chopped small in soups too. It's super good for you!

That's why most diets that are good for u call for it it fills u along with water so u eat less