*Adding Kale to Long-Term Food Storage*
By: TooshieGalore
01 October 2014
Kale grows easily even in cooler climates. My garden runs over with it. I like to grow organically, harvest, rinse and throw the excess in a dehydrator. But dehydrated kale has limited uses, mostly in soups and stews. I wanted to try something different.
I crunched the dehydrated morsels into the blender to make a powder. Then I sifted it and filled empty pill capsules to make "green capsules."
Kale is a nutritional standout with 134% daily recommended vitamin C as well as calcium, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Most long term food storage plans are deficient in "C" and calcium. I saw this as another way to supplement long-term food storage.
Capsules come in different sizes. The two most common sizes are "0" and "00". Size "0" is less than the length of a quarter. At Amazon, 1,000 empty "0" capsules cost $10.
A capsule filler machine makes the process painless. You can watch the process on several YouTube videos available. It's easy. My machine fills 24 capsules in about 2 minutes. It was $15 on Amazon. Machines come in capsule sizes. Make sure your machine matches your capsule size.
However, it's impossible to completely fill the capsule and I assume the remaining air space will deteriorate kale over time. I choose to vacuum seal the powder in bulk and only make enough capsules to be consumed in a few months.
I'm not a pill person and I despise capsules, primarily because I always imagined a glob of gelatin sitting in my belly. But a little experimentation revealed that the capsule quickly dissolves in water. I placed one empty capsule in a glass of warm water and another in a glass of cold water. Both dissolved at about the same rate. In less than two minutes they disappeared; completely dissolved, with no gel residue. However, in apple juice 20 minutes was required to completely dissolve. In coffee it was even longer. I guess it really is best to take pills with plain water.
Sure you can purchase "green supplements" both in capsule form and in a powder but when you DIY, you know exactly what you're eating.
Empty capsules: http://www.amazon.com/Empty-Gelatin-Capsules-Size--1000/dp/B000ACUJRW/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1411788762&sr=8-12&keywords=capsule+machine
TooshieGalore
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