How to Cleanse with Kale

In the spring, kale and other greens are a perfect choice to restore lightness and vitality. Greens are also an essential component to your yearly spring cleanse. If you haven't started your spring cleanse yet, or don't know how to cleanse, Kale with Coconut & Fennel is a great start.

Kale with Coconut and Fennel gently cleanses while it rejuvenates. The cleansing action of this recipe is mainly due to kale's bitterness, and secondarily to fennel, known for its ability to burn "ama" or toxins in Ayurveda. Here kale is cooked until soft and tender, so its bitterness is mild. Meanwhile coconut and fennel add sweetness and flavor, a popular flavor combination that will be appreciated by the whole family.

Sometimes, a few meals featuring greens as the main ingredient are all you need for a mild cleanse. Try Kale with Coconut & Fennel, served alongside fish. Or, if you are vegetarian, mung dal or black bean soup. Finally, serve a bit of brown rice for a complete and nourishing meal that promises to leave you feeling light and refreshed.

Whether you are recovering after a fun weekend of festivities, or simply taking a rest, Kale with Coconut & Fennel is a supportive choice. If only everything in life was so simple as a bowl of greens!

Cool Your Temper

Kale and coconut are both cooling ingredients that can calm any irritation, whether mental or physical. The bitterness of Kale draws angry bile out of the gall bladder and liver, making you feel cool as a cucumber. Your mind will simply feel relaxed and your eyes refreshed. Coconut is one of the best refreshments, a perfect way to cool you down as the heat of summer approaches. The cooling properties can even give you some relief from mild inflammation.

Bitter is Better

The leaves of all plants have a bitter component. Kale, endives, arugula and lettuce are some of the most simple, ubiquitously available greens in the grocery store. Bitters enhance and cleanse the digestive tract by stimulating GI movement (peristalsis) and the release of bile from the liver and gall bladder. Bitters were common in the diets of our ancestors and should be re-introduced as a main ingredient in the modern diet for health and longevity.

Bitter taste lightens Kapha body type's natural heaviness while cooling fiery Pitta. Kale is an excellent bitter but when undercooked it is hard and chewy, and hard to chew usually means hard to digest. Therefore, Kale should be cooked until it is soft and more digestible. Fennel and salt are both digestive aids for anyone who has trouble digesting kale. The sugar, coconut flakes and oil in this recipe add a heavy quality balancing the light quality of kale.

This recipe is one of our favorite staples on Joyful Belly. For more information, read more about bitter taste and greens.

Raw or Cooked?

Raw food offers nutritional benefits but is more difficult to digest, causing gas and bloating. The nutritional benefits are then outweighed by the toxicity of food fermenting in the gut. Indigestible food is considered poison in Ayurveda. As Dr. Robert Svoboda says, 'Even the nectar of immortality is a poison if the body can't digest it." The measure of good food is not just its contents, but its interaction with our body.

Cooked food is easy to digest but destroys some vitamins and enzymes. Neither is superior. The real answer to the cooked or raw debate depends on the digestive strength of the individual. Pitta people have the strongest digestive strength and can tolerate more raw foods than other doshas. Taken from The Raw Versus Cooked Debate.