Ya know those times when you wanna be healthier so you add tomato to your grilled cheese? And you order your pizza on honey wheat crust? And you get sweet potato fries instead of regular fries?
Well kale makes me feel healthier. Like gimme dat bagel and cream cheese with a kale leaf on top and let’s call it a day. The days of kale being a mere garnish are long gone, my friends.
Have you not seen kale caesar salads on every menu EVER lately? They’re so rustic and modern and worldly. I mean everyone’s doing it. Caesar dressing is totally calorie-free when it’s massaged into kale leaves, no?
Kale is taking over the world, whether you like it or not.
Sometimes I forget what it’s like to be in the real world where people eat donuts and frappucinos for breakfast and I’m the weirdo chugging a fugly green dirt smoothie that secretly tastes amazing. I forget that fried chicken sandwiches with chips and a pop are often the norm and hugh jass kale salads are not. It’s like I live in this microcosm of hashtag vegan healthiness. Is that a bad thing? I think not. And I must say, when I see kale caesar salads and whole wheat pizzas on restaurant menus, I feel the two worlds colliding. I get all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
I don’t hate it. I don’t hate it one bit.
Did Graeter’s not just create a lower-sugar ice cream? Is Coke not introducing a cola partly sweetened with stevia? Maybe it’s just trendy. Maybe it’s just lucrative. Maybe these companies don’t actually care about diabetes and cancer at all. Well I don’t really care why they do it. I’m just happy that they are.
Maybe you eat kale because it’s cool. Maybe you eat kale because it has a nutrient density of a bajillion. Maybe you eat kale because you actually like how it tastes. <–doubt it. Whatever your reasoning, I salute your effort to eat kale now and prevent chronic disease later. Your destiny is LITERALLY in this salad.
All hail the kale!
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A sweet and salty kale salad studded with fresh raspberries, walnuts and avocado.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 bunch curly kale, destemmed and chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1–6oz container raspberries
- 1/3 cup feta cheese (optional)
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp champagne wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place chopped kale in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and massage salt into leaves with hands until they turn a bit darker in color.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over top of salad and massage dressing into leaves for about a minute.
- Add red onion, walnuts, avocado, raspberries and feta. Toss to combine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
You’re kale-ing me softly with your preaching.
It’s working. I want kale now.
Kale fail.
April says
i need you to be my best friend. HOW ARE YOU SO FUNNYYYYYY
Julia says
The fact that our fried chicken and mashed potato world is colliding with the divine world of kale and nutrients makes me a happy person. I totally remember when I was all, gimme dat fully loaded salami and cheese sando with extra bread and a piece of iceberg lettuce because I need to get allll my greens in one sitting. Oh how the tables have turned.
I want this salad in my face trap. You make-a-the-kale taste good, my love.
★★★★★
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat says
Amazing! Firstly, I love kale and secondly, I love raspberries, so combining the two sounds like perfection!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven says
I eat kale cause you eat kale. Scratch that, I eat kale because I love any food I can “massage” lol…
Erica {Coffee & Quinoa} says
Good thing there are people like you who inhabit the same hashtag vegan healthiness world as me! Sometimes I’m surprised when I go to the grocery store and there’s all this stuff in bright packages and I’m like… this is not food. Kale, on the other hand, is definitely meant to be eaten! Love the raspberries and avocado on here, too. Mayyyybe I’ll just have to pick some up tonight!
jen says
This salad looks great. I am a huge fan of kale salads and I am stealing your idea of using a mason jar. Such a good idea.
Shashi @ runninsrilankan(dot)com says
So am one of them freaks that love the taste of kale – the fact that it has a “nutrient density of a bajillion” is my justification ;)
Nice combination of sweet and hard and creamy in this salad – I AM referring to THIS salad and nothing else!
Happy Monday lovely!
Helen says
The salad looks awesome. I haven’t eaten a kale salad before but all the add ins you have sound so good. I’ll definitely try it!
cheri says
This salad looks amazing, love the presentation in the ball jar. And yes I think people are more conscious of healthy food but it’s still not enough. Glad it’s becoming more trendy to eat healthy. Right……. everything in moderation.
Matt @ Runner Savvy says
Yum!
Maryea {happy healthy mama} says
Love this recipe and love this post. I totally feel like I’m living in a bubble world sometimes with how I eat and how I feed my family. Then I go out into the real world and see how against the norm we eat. Also, I really don’t care why companies are jumping on the healthy options bandwagon (I’m sure it’s for the $$) but I’m just glad they are! Awareness is key and people just need to be more aware. The pendulum is swinging, but it’s going to take a while to get there.
Angela Gilmore says
I haven’t fully embraced the love of kale yet, I am still a loyal spinach girl (not to say they are mutually exclusive), and I just don’t love the texture. I am told that kale in a smoothie is a good way to get acquainted but your salad looks like a great first step for me!
Hillary | Nutrition Nut on the Run says
yummo — I have all the ingredients. love me a kale salad anytime.