Remember the rage of kale? Smoothie recipes everywhere. Podcasts revolving around kale and only kale (it is indeed possible to talk about kale for an hour). Crunchy kale chips that were probably spelled with a “K” in crunchy instead of a C, because, you know. It’s kale. Best ways to cook kale. The “Kale Hack”.
That last one we made up, but it’s very likely out there.
Between last year and this year there was a Battle of the Brassicas and the results are in. Kale no longer reigns as king. Cauliflower is now seated on the throne. Point for point, cauliflower kicked kale out of supremacy but it was a good fight. What constituted the champ was a practical list of benefits.
Nutrient Content
Of course, the main focus is the health factor. Which one is healthier? The honest truth is that both are great. In fact, they would be a great pair since one has more where the other has less, for the most part. For example, K is for Kale, since it has much more vitamin K. However, cauliflower contains many more of the elusive vitamins that kale is lacking. See some of our most recent blogs on The Essentials for a great example.
Versatility
While kale makes an awesome chip, that seems to be the extent of creativity. There are smoothies, but many require massive amounts of fruit to balance out that distinctive flavor.
Cauliflower, on the other hand… well, we may know a thing or two about that. Mashed cauliflower, riced cauliflower, cauliflower stuffing, and yours truly, pizza! Every day it seems there are more ways to cook a cauliflower. In fact, that could even be the next big saying. “There’s more than one way to cook a cauliflower” - as opposed to the less pleasant but similar saying about cats.
Taste
Kale has a very strong flavor. This makes it more difficult to manipulate for palate appreciation. In addition, it actually causes one to eat less of it as well. With cauliflower, the flavor actually enhances the foods it is commonly prepared with, in contrast to kale where it is more common to cover up the flavor instead. This takes us back to our first point about nutrient content. Kale may run neck and neck with cauliflower for nutrient content, but only if you eat the same amount! Which brings us to our next and last point.
Trendiness
Because kale has such an overwhelming flavor, it was constricted to a trend. This isn’t a bad thing, but it does show how the general public responds to food. Kale is really great for you, but works much better as a specialty rather than a staple. The difference between kale and cauliflower is that cauliflower can do both – because of its versatility and taste. You can spruce it up all fancy as a spiced roast in a cast iron skillet, or you can eat it a different way every night and slip it onto your kids plates without them even suspecting any different.
Ultimately, we are all about eating veggies. All vegetables have something great to offer and should be taken advantage of. While it’s fun to contest the next big thing, it’s important to remember to keep a colorful plate regardless. Should we even be so adventurous to suggest a kale topping for your cauliflower pizza? Who knows! It’s worth a try.
https://www.foodbeast.com/news/cauliflower-vs-kale-which-is-the-better-superfood/
http://skipthepie.org/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/kale-raw/compared-to/cauliflower-raw/