Harvest Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

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It’s time to talk about massage… massaging your kale that is! Now don’t get me wrong, kale is a delightful green to eat. It’s packed with tons of antioxidants, vitamins and cancer preventing compounds, BUT it’s soooo GREEEEEN when you eat it. If you don’t steam it or massage it before eating it, it can feel a little bit like you are eating your front lawn AND bushes. So if you would like to add this wonderful veggie into your diet, let’s talk about massaging your veggies.

All you need is a tablespoon or two of olive oil or grape seed oil, a bowl and your kale (and other dark tough organic greens). Chop the kale into 1″ pieces and then drizzle with oil and then massage. That’s right, get your hands all oily and just crunch and massage the kale for a minute or two. That’s it… And if you’re worried about cleaning off your hands, any soap will work and if your hands still feel oily, wipe your hands onto your arms and give yourself a quick massage. Did you know olive oil and grape seed oil are great for your skin too 🙂

Kale is becoming more popular because of it’s super nutritional value. It’s packed with antioxidants like vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese. Kale also provides over 45 different flavonoids, including kaempferol and quercetin, which act as anti-inflammatory compounds. It has also been discovered that Kale contains glucosinolates which once eaten can be converted by the body into cancer preventing compounds. And all you need is 3/4 a cup to 1 1/2 cups of this green or any other cruciferous veggie a day to receive the fantastic health benefits. Check out this site to see if you’re getting your daily intake.

This organic salad had so many yummy things in it that it would more than meet your daily nutritional intake. It’s packed with kale, arugula and swiss chard harvested from our garden along with sweet beets, delicious home grown carrots, yummy figs, some wonderful pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins and dried cranberries. I added a little cooked chicken for protein and drizzled on some lemon vinaigrette for added flavor.

The lemon vinaigrette is something I whip up fresh for our dinner salads. I vary it at times to change up the flavor but the main components are grape seed oil, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbs de provence, and dill. I will sometimes add just a squeeze of our favorite mustard, Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7. You can vary it by omitting the lemon juice and using a different vinegar, such as champagne vinegar. You can also change up the spices and make it more Italian flavored by adding Oregano and Thyme. It’s a standard healthy dressing that should be kept close to your cook books or even in your cabinet for quick reference until you’ve got it down YOUR way 😉

Here’s the recipe for the salad and dressing:

Harvest Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

INGREDIENTS

(For the Salad)

Kale
Arugula
Swiss Chard
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil (To massage greens. We use California Olive Oil from Trader Joe’s)
1-2 Beets (chopped and boiled until tender, about 10 minutes)
1-2 Carrots
6-8 Figs
Pre-cooked Chicken Breast
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Raisins
Dried Cranberries

(For the dressing)

1/4 Cup Grape Seed Oil
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Lemon Pepper
1/2 + 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Dried Dill

DIRECTIONS

Chop and boil beets for about 10 minutes ahead of time, strain and set in the fridge to cool. Prepare the kale, swiss chard and arugula by washing and chopping. Then place the salad in a separate bowl and drizzle with olive oil and massage the green for a minute or two until tender. Set in the fridge to keep cool.

Chop the boiled beats, carrots, figs and mix into salad bowl. Shred the pre-cooked chicken breast and add to the salad. Sprinkle a handful of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins and dried cranberries (as much as you like) to the bowl and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Prepare the dressing by adding the grape seed oil and olive oil to a bowl. Then add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, lemon pepper, herbs de provence, garlic powder, and dill. Use a fork to whisk all the ingredients together.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad when ready to serve and toss the salad to coat with the dressing. Keep any remaining dressing in a container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Mandy Gatlin

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