Freezing Kale for Green Smoothies

A terrific idea that was shared with me! Save the Kale!

I had learned a little trick of saving your store bought bags of kale to use for green smoothies by simply placing the bag in the freezer to use later, what a great idea! This year, in my well loved quarantine garden, there is an abundance of healthy and happy kale. There is a sufficient amount to indulge in various kale salads, but still plenty of kale leftover to experiment with this freezing idea. It was a success so I have to share with you!

Having minimal experience with growing kale, I was amazed at how the produce continues to shoot upward and grow new kale leaves as it is harvested from the bottom of the plant. I wasn’t able to keep up with eating it fresh, only so many kale salads can be consumed in one week! And not to mention the zucchini to keep up with! 😆 So the freezing process began…

As I write this it is the first week of September and you would think the kale would be done by now, but it is still quite happy. And now the freezer shelves are stashed with gallon bags of frozen kale, which could be several months worth of green smoothie ingredients.

I simply harvested the kale, tore the leaves into pieces, and then spread them on a large sheet pan to freeze. I was assuming that using this method to freeze the torn leaves individually would help keep them from bunching up together in the bag, well, not that it really matters for smoothies 🤨. It took about an hour in the freezer and the leaves were frozen solid and ready to be placed in a freezer bag. Depending on the amount you have, this could be several batches, so just consider it a “harvest day”.