If you read this blog regularly, then you already know about my kale obsession. I unapologetically eat it nearly every day, in salads, in soups, in tacos – even in pot pies! I love all forms of it: beautiful deep blue-green Lacinto kale, Russian red kale, and the bright green (and rather chewy) curly kale that appears in salads on nearly every restaurant menu these days. But I recently discovered its delicate little sister, baby kale, and I'm hooked.

Roughly the size of baby arugula (though with less bite), you can buy it in 5-ounce bags or clamshells at the grocery, which I love to keep on hand for salads, wraps, green smoothies, or to throw into an omelet or frittata. It's super-easy to use when you're in a rush: no washing or chopping needed, and–given it's already so tender–there's no need to "massage" the leaves as you do with other forms of kale. (I just learned this trick the other day. Weird, but true!). Not only is it delicious and easy to use, but it packs a serious nutritional punch. One cup has just 33 calories, and contains well over a day's worth of Vitamins A, C, and K! Not bad for a cup of greens.

Here are three of my favorite ways to prepare baby kale. Give these simple recipes a try – each one takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. Definitely my kind of healthy!

All photos by Signe Birck

[recipe:best-detox-kale-salad-avocado-recipe][recipe:best-sauteed-baby-kale-eggs-over-easy-recipe][recipe:best-baby-kale-smoothie-cucumber-pear-recipe]