Trends are strange, wonderful things. They pop up seemingly overnight, wreak havoc on high percentages of the population, and then one day…they disappear just as quickly as they came. Some things are gone forever (Crocs, hopefully?), and some resurrect years after you thought they were long gone (See: scrunchies). Yet clothes and hairstyles are not the only things subjected to the trend machine; we have found a way to make even the food we eat fashionable.
Trend foods usually have one thing in common: they promise extraordinary health benefits to whoever eats them. Açai berries, quinoa, coconut water, etc. have all enjoyed their fifteen minutes in the sun as the Super Awesome Magical Health Food of the moment.
For some time now, the food to rave about has been kale. For those of you who stay as far away from vegetables as possible and may not be familiar with kale, it is a leafy green closely related to wild cabbage. I think it looks pretty itchy.
When celebs and magazines started obsessing over kale, I wasn’t inclined to get too excited about some glorified lettuce. But the kale craziness has taken off in directions I have never seen with any other food trend.
Well if Beyonce’s wearing it, it must be good.
Haim Medine, founder of Khai Khai Jewelry, has created a jewel-encrusted “kale” necklace that retails for $1,150.
By far my favorite manifestation of this trend: Mackenzie, one of the contestants on the current season of the Bachelor, has a baby son named Kale.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m not claiming that trend foods are a bad thing, not at all. Anything, even a sweatshirt, that influences people to eat healthier is fine by me. However, simply adding one health food to my diet won’t solve all my problems. I did a little veggie research to see if this trend lived up to the hype…or if it was full of empty promises.
Turns out, kale is considered across the board to be one of the healthiest foods you can eat. It’s high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, and vitamins K, A, and C. It can cut your cholesterol levels, and even reduce your risk for multiple types of cancer because of compounds called “glucosinolates”. It’s a great detox food, it promotes liver health…basically, there seems to be nothing short of eternal life that kale can’t provide.
If you’re raring to jump on the kale bandwagon at this point, you’re in luck. Notre Dame has started adding kale to its salad bars (I truly knew that I couldn’t escape this vegetable when I walked into NDH and was greeted by a sign declaring, “Rev up your salad with kale and flax seed!”). I tossed a handful of it into my Caesar salad the other day and was pleasantly surprised by the results.
You can also enjoy kale steamed, baked, fried, or sprinkled with lemon juice. I don’t think I’ll be dropping $1k on a kale necklace anytime soon, but I can assure you that this is one trend I don’t mind following.
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