Simple Kale Salad
I lOVE kale because it is mild in flavor and is so versatile. It is also packed full of nutrition. Believe it or not kale is packed full of calcium! Yes, you heard it from you, you don't have to eat dairy to get your calcium. It's also full of fiber, high in antioxidants, flavonoids, iron, vitamin C, Vitamin K1, and rich in sulphur. Sulphur is amazing because it supports our bodies natural detoxification pathways. Making a kale salad is easy and is convenient to pack for lunches. Sadly, leftover sauteed kale is not very yummy but kale salad is, and tastes even better the next day when the flavors have set in!
This kale salad only uses a few simple ingredients and is perfect for the fall using pecans, cranberries, and roasted butternut squash. This would even work well as a side dish for your Thanksgiving meal! I also want to mention that massaging the kale is exactly how it sounds, just taking the kale and massaging it in between your hands and fingers to get the oil and sea salt into the kale leaves. By dinging this you are also decreasing some of the bitterness that raw kale leaves have. If you are serving more than 4 people or want lots of leftovers you can easily double up just use two bunches of kale and double all the other ingredients. You will have lots of leftover butternut squash anyway if you roast a whole squash.
Servings: 4 sides or 2 large servings
Ingredients:
- 1 Large bunch of Kale
- 1 1/4 cups Roasted Butternut Squash cubed
- 1/2 cup Pecans
- 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1-2TBSP Avocado Oil ( to cook butternut squash)
- 2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/8 tsp Sea Salt
- dash of pepper to taste
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Then while oven is heating peel then cut your butternut squash into cubes.
- On a sheet pan lay out your cubed squash and drizzle with your avocado oil and toss.
- Roast the squash in the oven for about 40 minutes until cooked through and just beginning to brown. remove and set aside to cool.
- While squash is baking wash and dry your kale leaves.
- De-stem leaves and chop kale into pieces and add to a large bowl.
- Now add your olive oil , sea salt and pepper to the kale and massage with your hands for at least 1 minute.
- Add the remaining ingredients ( squash, cranberries, and pecans)
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to 2-3 days
** I like to make this salad with leftover butternut squash we have eaten the day before for a meal. This cuts the preparation time!!**
