Massaged Kale Salad

With kale being in season, I thought I would share with you all my simple, and easy kale salad recipe. This salad is great because it lasts in the refrigerator for almost an entire week, and is a great to pack for lunch or even a snack. It's very easy to make, with simple/inexpensive ingredients.

Massaging the kale allows all the nutrients to get released, and also takes a lot of the bitterness out of the green. I love massaging my hearty greens, like kale, because it gives it a great texture and flavor. The quinoa in this salad can be taken out, but I highly suggest using either quinoa or rice to help make this dish a full meal and more filling. Also, either rice or quinoa will add protein and some complex carbohydrates to the salad. 

Kale and Quinoa Salad

7-8 servings

Salad:

3 cups kale (roughly chopped)

1 Vidalia onion (diced)

1 English cucumber (diced)

2-4 medium sized carrots (diced)

½ cup cherry tomatoes (whole or cut in half)

½ cup raisins (or other dried fruit)

½ cup seeds or nuts (pumpkin, sunflower, almonds, pine nuts)

1 cup dry quinoa (optional)

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

4 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette

3 Tbsp. Raw apple cider vinegar

1 lemon (juiced)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbsp. oil (optional)

Prepare quinoa in water or stock (chicken, vegetable, or mineral), let cool. Place rinsed and chopped kale in bowl, and gently massage with clean hands for 5 minutes or until the kale has become soft and a vibrant green. Combine the rest of the veggies, fruit, and nuts/seeds, as well as the cooled quinoa.

Wisk together the ingredients for the dressing and combine with salad.

Store in air-tight container for up to a week.

I also was able to create a Nutrition Facts label for this recipe with a food processing program that my school has. Each serving is about a cup of the salad. Check out that vitamin A and fiber content! 

Asian Inspired Quinoa and Kale Salad

I absolutely love quinoa, kale, and Asian food . . . so I thought it was only necessary to come up with a recipe that combined all three of those things. This recipe is super simple, fairly cheap, and packed with protein. This makes a great lunch that you can pack to take with you to school, or work.

What's great about this recipe:

Quinoa is an amazing superfood. It's packed with protein and has all essential amino acids (which are the building blocks of protein). Another great thing about quinoa is that it is gluten free, so if you have celiac or have a sensitivity to gluten this is a great grain to incorporate into your diet.

Edamame is another great source of plant based protein. I love to use edamame because it is the most unprocessed form of soybeans. When buying edamame, look in the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store, and stick with organic edamame since soy is usually grown from GMO seeds.

Kale of course is another superfood, packed with tons of nutrients. I love throwing kale into dishes like this, because it just packs more nutrients into a dish. Also kale is in season right now, so it's pretty inexpensive.

Liquid Aminos are a great product to have in your refrigerator. The taste is almost identical to soy sauce, but isn't filled with sodium and preservatives like real soy sauce is. It is also non GMO and gluten free unlike most soy sauces. I love that it has all the amino acids, which are so important for our bodies to have and use.

Asian Inspired Quinoa and Kale Salad 

(Vegan/Gluten Free/Nut Free)

Servings: 4

1 small bunch of kale 

4 medium carrots

1 cup broccoli 

1/2 yellow onion 

1 cup edamame (shelled)

1 cup dry quinoa

Dressing:

1 Tbsp. miso 

1 Tbsp. dijon mustard

4 Tbsp. liquid aminos 

2 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. grated ginger

1. First, you want to cook your quinoa. I like using a rice cooker, because it's super simple and you can just put in the water and quinoa and walk away until it's done. But you can also do it on the stove top, just bring the quinoa and water to a boil and then simmer it on medium until all the water has been absorbed. 

        

2. Next, chop up all your vegetables. I like to chop up my carrots in thin sticks, because I think it looks nice and gives a great texture to the dish, but you can dice them if that's easier. 

Also, be sure to rinse and de-stem your kale!

               

3. Now it's time to sauté! Get a large sauté pan and lightly spray it with whatever type of cooking spray you prefer, and turn the heat on a little past medium. Once the pan is nice and hot add in your vegetable and edamame and cook until soft.

4. Cook the kale in a large pot on medium heat with the lid on. This way you can soften the kale and it will shrink in about half it's original size.

   

5. Once your vegetables are cooked and your kale is wilted, throw your vegetables in the pot along with the kale, and add in the cooked quinoa as well. 

6. Now it's time to make the dressing. Simply put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together with a fork. Then, add in the dressing to the quinoa and vegetable mixture. 

                

    

And that's it! A quick and easy dish that can be eaten throughout the week for lunch or dinner. I suggest topping it with some fresh avocado and sesame seeds.