So I am officially in my third trimester now, and I am totally feeling it! My belly is getting bigger, I am completely ravenous, and I can’t believe there’s still two more months left. But for now, how about this kale salad I made for labor day? It’s honestly my favorite salad right now, and my copycat version of The Veggie Grill kale salad that I love so much. Not only, does everyone I know love it, my 7 year old daughter loves it too. Which to me, is win win!
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This kale salad is full of goodness. First, there’s a whole lot of kale. Second, a whole lot of quinoa. And the rest is a mixture of corn, tomato, onion, purple cabbage, candied walnuts and candied slivered almonds. (When I say, ‘candied,’ I mean I toasted it with some honey in a small cast iron pan).
The dressing I made with a mixture of fresh squeezed orange and lemon, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and some honey. I’m telling you, this salad will be on your permanent dinner rotation. It’s so good! Not to mention, a great salad to bring to your next barbecue, or potluck. I think my daughter loves it because of the candied walnuts, but she says it’s because she likes that the veggies are so finely diced. Either way, look below for the recipe! And for more ways to add kale to your kids diet, check out my lemon kale pasta too!
Kale Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Notes
You can add more or less of the veggies, I like to not measure and just go with what I feel!
Ingredients
- 1 bag of organic chopped kale
- 1 cup of cooked quinoa
- 1 tomato finely diced
- 1/2 purple onion finely diced
- 3/4 cup of finely diced purple cabbage
- 1 and 1/2 cup of corn (you can use frozen, grilled, or boiled)
- 1/2 cup of walnuts
- 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
- 1 orange
For the Dressing:
- 5 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange
- 1 tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon
- 1 tbsp of honey
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the candied walnuts and almonds:
- 1 tbsp of honey or maple syrup or agave
- 1 tsp of vegan butter or you can use olive or coconut oil
Instructions
- Wash and prep all your veggies
- In a large mixing bowl, squeeze one whole orange on to the kale and MASSAGE the kale until kale softens. (about 5 minutes)
- On low medium, toast on a small cast iron pan, your walnuts and almonds with the butter and honey until lightly toasted. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
- If using frozen corn, saute on medium on a pan with olive oil for a few minutes until cooked. Let cool.
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions and let cool. (For one cup of quinoa, I use 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then let simmer for 15 minutes with lid on.)
- Once everything is diced and cooled, add the quinoa into the kale. Add the corn. Add the diced tomatoes, onion and cabbage. Add the candied nuts.
For the dressing:
- Add all the dressing ingredients into a jam jar. Add salt and pepper to taste. And shake until all mixed together.
- Pour on top of the salad and toss.
- Enjoy!
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