The Unthinkable: A Christmas Salad 
10 | Posted on December 15, 2011 ‹ newer older ›
Snack Girl will not apologize for her continued healthy holiday search. Today's entry: The Christmas Salad.
With its colors of red and green, and its sparkling dewiness, it will rival your Christmas tree for beauty and smell. Better yet, you get to EAT it, while the tree ends up on your curb.
Before you click off of here and go look at the latest cookie recipes, hear me out!
This salad is made with kale, which is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. One serving of this salad includes 206% of your daily value of Vitamin A. Kale is just a festival of nutrients.
Here are your holiday gifts from this salad:
- Kale is CHEAP and in season right now. I bought over 2 pounds for $1.33.
- Because kale is a winter green it is tougher than lettuce and will keep in your fridge for longer.
- This salad can be prepared in 5 minutes!
My summer garden is still growing kale and we are in full winter mode. Why can't tomatoes do the same thing? :)
The key to eating raw kale is chopping it into little bits. Obviously, trying to eat a leaf of kale (like a leaf of lettuce) with be next to impossible so you have to pre-chew it with your kitchen knife.
After you wash the kale, and strip it from its stem, you just chop it into small pieces and toss it into your salad bowl. Then the fun part starts! What we DON'T want to do is turn it into yesterday's taco salad and ruin the goodness that is kale.
What we do have to do is make it taste good so you will love it. I used olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon, salt, and some cherry tomatoes and it was brilliant. Bitter, sour, sweet, salty, crunchy - WOW!
It is amazing to me how good this tastes and I would have never tried it unless my husband made it for me when he forgot to buy lettuce. He just ran out the door, picked some kale, and created this salad that I couldn't stop eating.
Thin slices of parmesan (made with a vegetable peeler) would be great with this.
Do you have any suggestions for preparing fresh kale salad?
printChristmas Kale Salad Recipe
(serves 4)
one bunch of kale
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 fresh lemon
salt to taste
cherry tomatoes (optional)
Wash kale and strip it from its stem. Chop with a kitchen knife into small bits and make approximately 4 cups - add to large bowl. Mix olive oil and Dijon mustard in small cup and pour over kale. Squeeze lemon and toss. Now, taste it! What does it need? Salt, more lemon? Keep tasting until you get to desired flavor. Add cherry tomatoes and serve.
For one serving: 94 calories, 7.3 g fat, 6.8 g carbohydrates, 2.3 g protein, 1.4 g fiber, 100 mg sodium, 3 PointsPlus
Other posts you might like:
 | This Green Smoothie Does NOT Taste Like Grass Snack Girl has had MANY readers tell her to try "green" smoothies. Well, before last Tuesday, I had one word for them - YUCK!... read more |
 | Kale Chips There are bunches of kale ready to eat in someone's garden right now. What are you going to do with it all?... read more |
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10 Comments:
Sounds like a great idea to me! Healthy is good!
Curt on December 15, 2011
tasty little salad. I like your idea of using Kale. see u around =)
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb on December 15, 2011
Nice. I'd recommend massaging the kale down by hand first with some sea salt and olive oil first. Makes it softer and easier to chew.
Mike Lieberman on December 15, 2011
sounds good!
I thought I would share my Crazy Red/Green Soup ideaChristmas lentil soup
red and green lentil soup
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch red stemmed Swiss chard washed and chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup lentils
1 large yellow onion small small dice
3 cloves of crushed garlic
fresh cilantro small bunch finely minced
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 quart water
salt
pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
juice of 1 lemon
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a soup pot simmer lentils in water covered until they are tender about 40 minutes.
2. in a sauté pan add oil and onions cook until caramelized
3. then add the Swiss chard, cilantro, spices and garlic, cover and cook until wilted
4. then add flour cook 5 minutes
5. then add vegetables into soup pot with lentils add lemon juice simmer for 10 minutes
6. serve with warm pita
Sheridan on December 15, 2011
I've been making Kale salad also and I love that it holds up so much longer than lettuce. I'm going to try your dressing recipe...sounds yummy and healthy.
Lynda on December 15, 2011
Sounds delicious - I love kale! I agree with Mike. I typically massage the dressing into the kale and it's fantastic. I will be trying this dressing. Always looking for new ways to use kale. Thanks!
Jaimie on December 15, 2011
I had a kale and raisin salad with Ponzu sauce last night - yum!
Jen N Mathews on December 15, 2011
You could add an apple to this salad. It will be still better, really!!!
Irene on December 15, 2011
Lettuce+orange+slivered
fennel+almonds+dried cranberries+drizzle of olive oil= yummy
Ellen on December 15, 2011
A caterer made a great summer salad with kale, quinoa, apricots and pistachios, with a light dressing. It was delicious. I got to take a big bowl home and it kept well for four days.
Flo on December 23, 2011
