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We all know we should be eating less processed foods and more real, whole foods...but reality sinks in when, for instance, you're rushing out the door and you can either grab a granola bar that's bundled up in a neat little package for your afternoon snack or a bowl of kale leftover from last night's dinner.

Here's one woman who'd reach for the kale in a heartbeat, though: Nell Stephenson, a competitive endurance athlete and author of the new book Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean, and Feel Fabulous With the Diet You Were Born to Eat. Kale is Stephenson's favorite vegetable; on the morning we spoke, she'd just had breakfast, which included a raw kale salad made with olive oil, garlic, red onion and freshly ground pepper. She incorporates the super-healthy leafy green into every meal (even snacks). "The more leaves, the better; the more greens the better," she writes. Still, Stephenson understands that the vitamin-packed leafy green can be a bit harsh. To get past that, she has some pointers: buy organic, if you can (it really does taste better, she says); choose lacinato or dinosaur kale over curly (those varieties have a more delicate flavor), and massage it before eating (Really! Rubbing it with some olive oil and then letting it sit in a bowl with some lemon or lime juice breaks it down and renders a more gentle taste).

Once you've taken those steps, you're ready to try some of Stephenson's kale recipes. Two of them--Chicken or Turkey Avocado and Apple Wraps and Kale Chips--are easily portable; while the author's take on Eggs Benedict has the power to pull you out of bed 10 minutes earlier than usual so you can enjoy it at home before conquering the day.

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