Flashing back to the days when I waitressed at Perkins Family Restaurant. Yes, when I was a teenager and knew everything…. Each dinner dish was garnished with curly kale. It was completely foreign to me, and I definitely did not think it was edible. In my mind, its only purpose was to make the dish look more appetizing. And when people actually did eat it, I was appalled. LOL!
Fast forward to the future, I have found a whole new appreciation and love for kale. And of course, now that I know what a nutritional powerhouse it is, I love it even more. It took me a while to warmup to the idea of eating it. I started with kale chips which are mildly addictive. My family will stand around the baking sheet and just go to town on them. Then I started experimenting with the different varieties of kale and there are quite a few of them!
Lacinato Kale – aka Tuscan Kale is one of my favorite varieties. And that is what I used in today’s new recipe of the week.
When preparing this salad, I removed the center stem of each kale leaf. Then I would roll up the leaf and slice it very thin. Since Kale is a thicker type of lettuce, you can opt to dress the salad about 30 minutes prior to serving/eating. That way it will soften the leaves a bit.
You are more than welcome to modify the ingredients for your salad. This recipe came together based off what I had on hand at the time. I loved it so much and figured it was website worthy so now sharing with you all. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Kale’s Nutritional Power:
- One of the most NUTRIENT DENSE foods on the planet! That will make you think long & hard on how to make it fit into your diet!
- Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C – all well over 100% of your daily value.
- Can you say loaded with Antioxidants??? They help fight off those free radicals you are exposed to on the daily.
- Contains several cancer fighting nutrients.
- Great for bone health since high in calcium.
- High in fiber and great for weight loss.
*Note, if you are on blood thinners or have a thyroid condition, you will need to limit the amount of Vitamin K in your diet. Check with your diet before making any major dietary changes.
And don’t forget, salads are not just meant for Summer. Remember that Summer bodies are made in the Fall, Winter and Spring. ENJOY!
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