Garlicky Tuscan Kale with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

This is one of my new favorite side dishes. I'm not a big fan of spinach, so I try to eat other dark leafy greens to take advantage of the nutrition benefits they offer. Kale is a particularly good source of fiber, Vitamin A,Vitamin K, Vitamin C, manganese, and calcium. When eaten with a good source of fat, like lard from pastured pork, the vitamins and minerals can be more easily absorbed into your body and put to good use. Specifically, lard from pastured pork contains high levels of Vitamin D, which is necessary to absorb and use the calcium in the kale!

Ingredients:

1/2 a bag of Trader Joe's Organic Tuscan Kale
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of Lard, divided
1 teaspoon of Organic Granulated Garlic
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Melt 1 tablespoon of lard over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. 
• Add the onions and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
• Saute the onions and mushrooms for 10-15 minutes until softened and slightly browned. 
• Add the other tablespoon of lard, kale, and garlic powder, and continue to saute until the kale is wilted, about 3-5 minutes. The kale may pop in the pan, and it will sound scary, but it's ok... just keep going and watch your forearms. ;)
• Re-season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. 

Don't want to use lard? Well, ok. I give you permission. You could also use grassfed butter/ghee, coconut oil, or other paleo friendly fat. Whole Foods also sells DUCK FAT (known to chef's as "liquid gold"), which, by the way is also an incredibly tasty, paleo fat that would be delicious in this dish. Bacon grease would work wonderfully as well. Just so you know, all veggies taste great with a little pork fat.

I love to eat dark leafy greens with Wild Caught Salmon, like this lunch I had pictured below, but it would also be lovely with pastured pork or grass fed steak.