Jade Giant Pumpkin & Kale Gnocchi

​Kale Ink

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your kale and boil for about 1 minute. Remove kale and place immediately into a bowl of ice and water.
2. In a blender, blend the kale, 2 tbsp of water, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper until smooth. Add a little more water if it does not blend well.
3. Pass the puree through a fine mesh strainer (sieve) to remove any fibrous pieces. Put kale ink aside.

Gnocchi

1. Place your pumpkin puree, ricotta, egg, kale ink, lemon zest, nutmeg and a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper in a large bowl. Mix together until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
2. Slowly add your spelt flour and continue to mix until it forms a ball of dough. Add more or less flour to reach a soft, but not sticky, ball of dough. If not rolling the dough out immediately, place it in the refrigerator.
3. Divide the ball of dough into four pieces, and on a floured surface roll each piece out into a long strand about ¾ of an inch thick. Using a floured knife cut the dough strand into small gnocchi pieces about an inch long.
4. Optional: roll each gnocchi along the tines of a fork to create the traditional gnocchi pattern.
5. Place gnocchi on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper and cover with a clean dish cloth to prevent them from drying out. If you are not cooking them right away, you can freeze or refrigerate them.
6. When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi. Once they start to float (around 1 to 2 minutes), they are cooked and ready to remove from the water.

Sauce

1. Add olive oil to a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add your onions and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the kale, lemon juice, sage leaves, chili flakes (optional) and a pinch of salt and ground black pepper.
2. Sauté for another 2 minutes. Add some of your gnocchi to the pan and incorporate well with the sauce. Plate gnocchi and garnish with a little grated pecorino cheese.

• Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery can cause you to lose red blood cells or make it more difficult for your body to produce red blood cells, a condition called anemia. This can make you feel tired, weak and dizzy. Sometimes this type of anemia can be helped by getting more iron from foods or supplements, but sometimes it cannot. If your iron levels are really low, your doctor might recommend certain medications or treatments to help boost your red blood cells.
• Anemia can also be caused by not getting enough iron in your diet. This is why it is important to eat a nutritious diet that includes iron-rich foods. Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and chard are rich in iron. 
• The type of iron found in vegetables, called non-heme iron, is not absorbed as well as the type of iron in foods that come from animals. In fact, vegetarians need to consume twice as much iron as non-vegetarians to meet their iron needs. To help your body absorb more non-heme iron, include a source of vitamin C. Citrus fruit, bell peppers and strawberries are all excellent sources of vitamin C that make a great addition to your leafy greens.