Seeing in the dark, Kale Crisp recipe
You are what you eat: recipes for helping healthy eyes
We were all taught growing up that carrots were the wonder-food that could make you see in the dark – and as exciting as that sounds I’m not convinced. I’ve eaten many-a-carrot in my time, but sadly neither from-frozen-overboiled-school-dinner batons nor juliennes dipped in luxurious hummus have granted me with the supernatural gift of unassisted night vision. There’s an interesting story behind this myth which you can read about in another of our blog’s here.
However, not all hope is lost. Evidence suggests there is good reason to believe that green leafy veggies can greatly benefit general eye health. Though vegetables like kale, spinach and cabbage can’t give you superpowers they can help you maintain healthy eyes and good vision because of the nutrients they contain. Organically grown veg are supposedly more nutrient dense and arguably tastier so even better if you can get your hands on some of those.
Want some inspiration?
My iClinic’s team have contributed their favourite green veggie recipes and we’re sharing them with you so you’ve got no excuse to avoid eating your greens!
Kale Crisps – great snack or sprinkled over salads, pastas and stir-fries. It’s simply seasoned curly kale baked in the oven.
Prep time – 10 mins
Cook time – 15 mins
Ingredients
250g curly kale
Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
| French-style
1 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp dried rosemary or mixed herbs Drizzle of olive oil, about 1 tbsp |
Japanese-style
1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp tomato puree Generous pinch of chili flakes Sesame seeds Drizzle of sesame or coconut oil, about 1 tbsp 1 tsp of honey, wasabi and/or miso paste if you like |
Korean-style
1 tbsp gochujang (delicious korean fermented chili paste) 1-2 tsp vegetable oil |
Method
Turn fan oven onto 180 degrees.
In a large bowl mix your prefered seasoning ingredients.
Roughly chop the kale, washing it first if necessary, and place in the bowl with the seasoning. Mix the kale into your marinade – use your hands to make sure it’s well and evenly coated, adding a little splash of water if needed.
Put your marinated kale onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Do keep an eye on it though, as the kale sometimes has a tendency to catch (…although the burnt bits are often the crispiest and tastiest!)
Free-style
Feel free to make up your own version of this recipe, depending on what you have in the cupboard. Chuck in any flavours you like! Add all the nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, pastes, oils and sauces you can think of. Go crazy…
About the experts
Meet the My-iClinic founders, Mr John Bolger and Ms Bola Odufuwa. Two consultant eye surgeons who made it their life goal to make your life better.
