Staples for Living a Healthy Lifestyle: A Simple Winter Salad (Written from Italy)
I’m a salad fiend and as such I try to find ways to create beautiful and delicious salads with layers of textres throughout each changing season, ones that I know you will fully enjoy! To round out my Staples in the Kitchen series (you can find the pervious 3 attached here – Almond Milk, Sweet Almond Butter, and Winter Baked Oatmeal), I wanted to introduce a Winter Massaged Kale Salad. When I first started the blog I added a massaged kale salad for summer but found myself trying to recreate it all year round. Knowing how nutritious and flavorful those ingredients were, I spent an arm and a leg trying to buy peaches in October when really no one should do this. I wised up and started incorporating many of the fruits that are in season – saving me money and allowing the salad to burst with juicy seasonal flavors!
I know many of you will love and adopt this massaged kale salad for so many reasons – one being that it saves you so much time and money during the week! Like anyone in a lunch dilemma, I often forget to bring my lunch to work and end up spending money on an overpriced salad which I could make even better at home.
Kale is a lettuce that has thick and strong leaves. The best way you will enjoy it is by massaging it the night before with dressing and then packing it up for lunch the next day! I am a huge fan of this method as it has saved me countless scrambled minutes in the morning bringing together a lunch and also ensures that I won’t need to buy one that day – again saving both time and money (and a bit of sanity). Also its so much better when you’re able to choose exactly which ingredients you want! The great part about kale is that when massaged, it won't wilt as with any other lettuce with dressing. This is why it holds so well for lunch the next day. I also made two servings of this the night before I left for Italy last week and it held up wonderfully! I end up being filled with such goodness and delicious flavors – feeling energized during my travels.
This winter massaged kale is filled with great flavors as all the toppings are within season. The crispy apples, alongside the soft persimmons and beets, adds a beautiful layer of flavor and textures that then is balanced by the earthy, yet sweet, turmeric dressing. Every bite brings a different mingling of fresh fruit and crunchy nuts. To add even more bulk and goodness to this salad, you can mix in any beans, avocado or hemp seeds. For a little nutrition info on kale you can read it here in my previous post for the Perfect Summer Salad.
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 3 minutes
Ingredients for the Simple Winter Salad:
- 4 kale stocks with the stem removed
- ½ persimmon
- small handful of pecans (or any nut)
- 1/3 of an apple
- small handful of raisins (I like the white rains from Farmers Markets)
- ½ of a large cooked beet
- handful of pomegranate seeds
Ingredients for the Turmeric Dressing:
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon of tahini
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1 small garlic clove, thinly chopped (minced garlic)
- 1 and ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of water
Instructions:
Start by tearing the kale leaves into bite-size pieces, disregarding the steams. Then wash the kale leaves and pat dry. Before you massage the kale, you want to pour the turmeric dressing you prepared (by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl) on top of the leaves. Then use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale. The acid from the dressing will help break down the cell wall. Massage for 1-2 minutes. The longer you massage, the softer the kale will become.
Then simply cut all the ingredients for the salad, cubing the beets and persimmons, and mix with the massaged kale. Top with the chopped nuts and pomegranate seeds.
I’d love to know what you consider a staple recipe or food in your kitchen? Feel free to share below and I hope you love this staple salad and find yourself enjoying it throughout the busy week!
xx Marie