D is for Dino Kale

I learned a good lesson this week. If you don't want to eat a ton of kale, be careful how much you plant. Little ol' six pack of kale starts? Yeah, that grows a TON of kale. I like kale and all, but the quantity exceeds my typical rate of kale consumption. And unfortunately I do not have a husband who is willing to help me out (he made it clear that kale was not his thing the minute that six pack hit my shopping cart at Molbacks). And my son, well, it's hard for him to chew leaves. He has a valid excuse. So it's all me, and for that reason I've been digging up various ways to use kale, perhaps in places where it can be slightly hidden in hopes hubby or 2 year old will accidentally consume it. Hmmm.

That's when I remembered the oh-so-wonderful Emerald City Salad at PCC. It's a fantastic blend of diced vegetables, wild rice, seasoned dressing, and KALE! Perfect for potlucks, barbecues, or a side for a simple dinner at home. A trusty Google search found me some copy-cat recipes in less than a minute and I shall now share said recipe with you. I found this one on Gluten Free Girl's website (who reported she got it from Cynthia Lair's book, Feeding the Whole Family, one of my personal favorites), so yes, it is also a great recipe if you have food allergies as it's corn, soy, dairy and gluten-free.

I should mention real quick that there are several varieties of kale. I grew Dinosaur Kale, or the more proper name, Lacinato or Tuscan Kale. It's more of a flat leaf as opposed to the curly and more bunchy varieties. It's also a really deep lovely green color. Dino kale does not lend itself well, as I found out myself, to making kale chips. I've heard so many people rave about kale chips that I thought I'd put my mountains of kale to good use in such fashion, however because it is so flat it doesn't dry out very well slathered in oil on a baking sheet. Bummer. But I will attest, kale chips are GOOD. Google yourself a recipe and give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed. Your friends and family will be begging for more.

Now, I wouldn't be a good Dietitian if I didn't talk a little bit about kale's nutritional properties in an effort to increase your consumption of this nutrient powerhouse. First, as anyone taking Coumadin could probably tell you, kale is loaded with Vitamin K (hence you need to be careful if taking blood thinners). It also has load of Vitamin A and Vitamin C and a healthy amount of calcium (yes, calcium!), potassium, folate, iron and B vitamins. Kale also has magical cholesterol-lowering capabilities (binds bile acids; better at this in cooked form), has been noted as lowering the risk for many types of cancers, and supports the body's natural detox systems. Furthermore, researchers have found over 45 different flavoinoids in kale which act as potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. I think kale is also working on world peace. Seriously, what doesn't it do?

So yes, kale. I have a lot it, but that's a good thing as you can see. And now back to my featured recipe. It's pretty easy to prep and throw together, but if you'd like to sit back and watch someone else make it, check out CookusInterruptus.com and let Cynthia Lair do the work for you before you try your own. You might even get a little chuckle out it, certain to put you in a salad-making mood. A cold beer would help with that too.

Emerald City Salad

For the rice:
2 1/4 cups water or stock
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup wild rice

For the dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Vegetables:
1/2 cup chopped fennel bulb, core removed
1/2 of a red or yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 cups finely chopped kale

Salt and pepper
Crumbled goat cheese, optional

1. Bring the water or stock to a boil. Add the butter, salt and rice. Bring back to a boil, cover and turn down the heat and simmer for ~60 minutes (until all water absorbed).

2. Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing and whisk or shake well. Set aside.

3. Combine all the chopped vegetables and the dressing in a bowl, with the kale on top. When the rice is done and still warm but not steaming, spread the rice over the top of the kale and let sit until cool. Then, mix together everything together and season as necessary (you may want to add a little more lemon juice as well). Sprinkle cheese on top if desired.

LEAP!

Finally, after months of intermittent studying, I am a Certified LEAP Therapist, or CLT for short. I'm sure many of you would say "Yay, wonderful. Now what the heck is that?"  Per the logo above (which I believe needs a serious update, don't you?), LEAP stands for Lifestyle Eating and Performance. Basically, it's a diet protocol that helps food allergy/sensitivity sufferers know how to eat after diagnosis with Mediator Release Testing (MRT). MRT is the most accurate food sensitivity test on the market, however it can be quite confusing to know what is ok to eat after you get the results. That's where I come in. I work with patients to tailor an initial diet that gets them feeling better and on the road to recovery.

While anyone who is suspicious that they have food sensitivities can benefit from this test and protocol, there are some conditions commonly associated with food sensitivities. These include IBS, severe migraines, and fibromyalgia, as well as any condition that is merely being controlled and not cured by modern medicine (persistent acid reflux, gastroparesis, ulcerative colitis). It's amazing how removing offending foods (and chemicals!) and clearing up inflammation can lead to a "cure" of sorts for many health issues. We would never think of food as the problem in many of these cases, however unresolved food sensitivities promote inflammation, and as we now know inflammation can cause a host of problems in the body. 

So why do I talk here about food sensitivities and not allergies? Well, there is a difference. First of all, MRT does not test for classical food allergies, which is an IgE antibody reaction. You know when someone goes into anaphylactic shock as a response to eating peanuts? That is a perfect example of an IgE response. Predictable and sometimes life-threatening. There are other ways foods can provoke the immune system, however, via other types of antibodies (IgG and IgM) and non-antibody pathways (T-cell activation, complement). These often produce symptoms hours if not days later and are usually annoying or debilitating but not life-threatening. And the symptoms may not always be of the same severity or even may change at times altogether. Often all a person knows is they feel like crap (maybe persistent cold-like symptoms, achy joints, diarrhea, migraines, etc) but they are unsure what is causing the problem. In fact, many people often learn to live with these symptoms as modern medicine usually fails to cure them. 


That is where MRT comes in. This test is an indirect measure of mediator release, which means is provides a measurement of the mediators these antibodies are releasing (histamine, cytokines, prostaglandins, etc) in response to particular foods. What does that tell us? It tells us that the body is undergoing a reaction and likely causing unpleasant symptoms. Now we have something to work with and can start getting these reactive foods out of the diet. It's a little more complicated when it comes to the diet part, but essentially that is what we are doing.

Anyhow, I know I have tons more to learn in the area of immunology, but the good thing is now I have some great tools to be able to help people work through potential food reactions and get them on a path to recovery. Can you imagine someone plagued by migraines suddenly becoming headache free? Or someone suffering for years with IBS and finally finding relief and a sense of normalcy? I've heard countless amazing stories of such examples and I look forward to helping many people do the same.

If you want any more information on LEAP or MRT, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions and even provide the science behind the test and the protocols. 

And if you or anyone you know is suffering from annoying or even debilitating symptoms, especially relating to migraines, fibromyalgia, or IBS, please give me a call. MRT is not for everyone, but for some it may just be the answer to reclaiming their health.

For more information, have a look through some of these sites:

http://www.nowleap.com/

http://www.markschauss.com/medical-research/leap-mrt-a-tech-sheet-on-what-the-test-does/

(view this guy's tech sheet with a great run down of MRT. He does a much better explanation that I can.)

-Danielle VenHuizen, MS, RD, CLT