Whole Foods Introduces ‘Kale Pong’

Queen Bey in her kale sweatshirt via tumblr

Everyone knows that kale is the green leaf du jour. What you may not know is that up until the craze began in 2013, the largest consumer of the dark, leafy green was Pizza Hut—used as decoration for their salad bars. True story.

While the crunchy leaf trend may not be going anywhere anytime soon, there are some ridiculous ways that people are using/talking about the leaf. Case in point: A kale sweatshirt. Why, Beyonce, why? After Queen Bey posted the picture above on Tumblr posing in her kale sweatshirt, other celebs (Rachel McAdams, Nikki Reed, and Brooke Burke) were spotted sporting the top.

Then came the kale martini. I’ve yet to find this in Boston, but I’ve seen it in NYC, and so did New York magazine.

But the most hilarious (more like brilliant!) of them all has to be Whole Foods’s “Kalegaiting” event taking place Sept. 6 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Whole Foods Charles River Plaza. In order to usher in football season the healthy way, participants are being asked to donate $10 as a buy-in to a “kale pong” tournament. The money goes to the Whole Kids Foundation, an organization that works to incorporate nutritious meals and healthy eating education in schools.

The tournament will feature a buffet of healthy snacks made with “a lot of kale,” says marketing team member Matt Robertson, including salads and kale pizzas. There will also be a selection of “normal” football foods such as wings and chips and dip.

And don’t worry, you won’t be biting into kale after making a shot; you’ll swallow a gulp of silky kale smoothie. “The cups will be filled with water so that people won’t be sticking their hands in cups of kale smoothies,” Robertson says. Tournament winners will get a gift basket with tailgating essentials valued at $100.

Sign up here.