I've had a craving for kale the past 2 weeks.

Nothing wrong with that, in fact, there is a lot right with it, except that I don't like kale. So I resisted the craving. (Funny...I used to resist cravings for cookies, cake, donuts, pizza, sausage, because I didn't want to gain weight, and now I am resisting a craving for kale...)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I am a health and wellness coach, and that kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables on the planet...that's why it's so hot right now...but I just never liked the taste.

Being from the South, I was raised on turnip, mustard, and collard greens and I love them, at least the way my mother and grandmother cooked them, with a teaspoon of sugar to cut the bitterness.

But I'm not about to put sugar in kale, so...I just don't eat it. I know lots of people who love it, but it's just at the bottom of my personal list for taste.

When my craving didn't go away, I decided to stop resisting the craving and purchase a bunch of kale at my favorite store, Mariano's. www.marianos.com. Because I knew the craving meant I needed one, if not all, of the many nutrients in kale. Stay tuned for more on that.

I decided I would juice the kale and hope that some other fruits or veggies would cut the bitterness.

So as soon as I got home, I got out the juicer and looked up the recipe for Joe's Mean Green Juice. Joe is the creator and star of the film, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead www.fatsickandnearlydead.com, and I just heard him speak at IIN Live www.integrativenutritionschool.com over the weekend.

The film tells the story of how he lost weight and cured himself of an autoimmune disease by going on a 60-day juice fast followed by ongoing healthy eating, juicing, and exercise.

Before I get to Joe's recipe, let me share some of the benefits of kale from www.mindbodygreen.com.

Did you know that kale is higher in iron than beef? Iron helps transport oxygen throughout our body and assists with cell growth.

Kale is high in Vitamin K and antioxidants, both of which can help protect against cancers.

It is also high in Vitamin A (great for vision and skin) and Vitamin C (great for your immune system and metabolism).

And, here's a surprise to most of us: kale is higher in calcium than milk!

It's also a fantastic detox food.

Now for the Mean Green Juice recipe. If you do not have a juicer, I suggest making a green smoothie in your blender, just add a cup of filtered water first and make sure to chop up the apples and other veggies in smaller pieces than you would if you were juicing.

1 cucumber (if not organic, peel)
4 celery stalks (use organic as celery is one of the "dirty dozen"--most filled with pesticides)
2 apples, I use Granny Smith
6-8 leaves of kale, which in Australia, where Joe is from, is called Tuscan cabbage!
1/2 lemon (peel if not organic)
1 tbsp ginger (I use fresh ginger, peeled, about an inch).

Wash all produce
Juice
Pour over Ice
Enjoy!

It. Was. Delicious! So I had some again today. And I might have some more tonight, before bed. Granted, it is not as sweet as the carrot/pineapple/ginger juice I usually fix, but maybe I just don't need that sweetness now...I obviously needed iron, Vitamin A,K, or C, or calcium, or a detox, or all of them...

And it feels so good to have that craving diminish, because whether they are for a Snicker's bar or kale, cravings are annoying!

I think this is a perfect lead-in for a post on intuitive eating and listening to your body, so be looking for that in the next week or so.