Vegetables and everything else
Kale on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 3 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), raw, for around 35 calories. A large handful, raw, about 60 g (2.1 oz), gives roughly 2 g of protein for 21 calories.
How kale sits on a GLP-1
Kale is about 3 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) raw, tough and fibrous, and raw kale salad is the single most demanding thing on this page for a small appetite: a bowl of it is a long chewing job that fills you up on almost nothing. Cooked it softens, shrinks and becomes easy, and the folate, vitamin K and calcium it carries are worth having when you are eating little. On a GLP-1 kale belongs in soup, in a pan with garlic, or blended into a smoothie, never raw in a bowl.
When your appetite is small
Strip the leaves off the stems, chop them small, and wilt them into whatever is already cooking: a lentil soup, a chicken broth, a pan of eggs. A large handful, about 60 g (2 oz), shrinks to a couple of spoonfuls and carries 2 g of protein and a good deal of nutrition without a single extra mouthful to manage.
Three ways to prepare it
Wilted into soup or broth at the end
Chopped leaves into a mug of chicken broth or a lentil soup in the last three minutes. Soft, green, and no chewing.
Blended into a fruit and yoghurt smoothie
A handful of leaves with Greek yoghurt, milk, banana and a scoop of whey. The fruit hides it entirely and the smoothie is about 30 g.
Sauteed with garlic under a fried egg
Leaves softened in olive oil with garlic for four minutes, a fried egg or two on top. About 14 g with two eggs.
What to eat it with
Eggs, chicken broth, lentils, parmesan, garlic, lemon, chilli. Kale is a background vegetable that goes into a protein dish, and it needs fat and acid to be pleasant.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kale | about 3 g | 35 kcal | this page |
| Spinach | about 3 g | 23 kcal | See the page |
| Broccoli | about 2.8 g | 35 kcal | See the page |
| Cauliflower | about 2 g | 25 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, raw, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Kale or curly kale in all three countries. Tuscan kale is cavolo nero in the UK and Australia and lacinato or dinosaur kale in the US; it is softer and milder than the curly kind. Bagged chopped kale and frozen kale are sold in all three.
Questions people ask
Is kale high in protein?
No: about 3 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) raw, and a large handful is 2 g. It is worth eating cooked for the folate, vitamin K and calcium, but on a small appetite a raw kale salad fills you up on almost no protein, so wilt it into something with eggs, chicken or lentils.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.