When it comes to cooking I'm a bit high maintenance (HM). I may be a foodie, but I do not enjoy spending endless hours in my kitchen when I could be doing more exciting things such as meandering through Kensington Market or ice skating on the Harbourfront in Toronto.

Basically, I want my meals to taste nothing short of fabulous, but I refuse to spend more than 30 minutes making that happen. As I'm sure most of you can relate to my fabulous-yet-easy cooking philosophy, you'll love this amazing recipe that I whip up at couple of times a week, and takes no more than five minutes. It is delicious, satisfying and chock full of anti-cancer and energizing nutrients.


Kale and mushrooms are the main ingredients and here's why I love them.

1. Energizing: They're incredible sources of energy boosting B vitamins such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and niacin (vitamin B3), all of which are important for energy metabolism.

2. Anti-cancer: Just five ounces of cremini (also spelled crimini and also known as baby portobellos) mushrooms gives you a whopping 52.6% daily dose of selenium. This mineral works as a cofactor to one of the body's most important internally produced antioxidants, glutathione peroxidase, which reduces the levels of damaging free radicals in the body.

3. Anti-stress: Both the B and C vitamins in kale and mushrooms support the adrenal glands from getting a beating during periods of stress and specifically the B's, prevent fatigue related to stress.

Recipe after the jump.

Kale and Mushrooms with Walnuts, Tamari and Lemon....in Five Minutes!

Ingredients
5 big lush leaves of raw organic kale, washed, stems removed and torn up into chunks
5-10 organic cremini (crimini) mushrooms, washed and chopped
Half freshly squeezed lemon
1 tbsp wheat-free organic tamari sauce (check the label to make sure it's MSG FREE and organic soybeans are used)
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup water
5-7 walnuts
Dash of sea salt and pepper
Dollop of extra virgin olive oil

Method
In a large pan, on medium heat, sauté the kale and mushrooms in the butter, lemon juice and water (in case the pan gets dry). Cook until the mushrooms are fork tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and toss with tamari, olive oil, sea salt, pepper to taste and sprinkle with some walnuts.

This recipe is great as a side dish to fish such as salmon or a piece of organic free-range chicken. Alternatively, and this is what I usually do, is place the kale and mushrooms onto a bed of cooked quinoa, brown rice or millet.

EnJOY!

If you love the salty crunch of potato chips, then you will adore this recipe: Kale Chips

Joy McCarthy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach of Joyous Health, loves to inspire others to eat well and live well. Joy is the resident holistic nutritionist at 889 Yonge, a Yoga & Holistic Lifestyle Spa in Toronto. Joy welcomes your questions or comments.