Kale Superfood Salad

I’ve been on a kale kick recently.  Several different versions of this kale salad were to be found at my local store’s deli.  They were delicious but rather expensive for my taste.  I decided to put together my own mix of these tasty and nutritious veggies, fruits & nuts. It’s so crunchy and satisfying! It’s also a LOT cheaper than $8 a pound.  Hey, this chick is on a budget!

P.S.  It’s a good thing it’s low-cal because I can eat truckloads of this stuff! (**allergy alert - this contains nuts!)

Kale Superfood Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large bunches of kale, washed, drained and chopped (I included the smaller, tender stems as well)
• 4 small carrots, peeled or chopped
• 1 pint blueberries, washed
• 1 large English cucumber, diced
• large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 container of cranberry trail mix, about 13 oz. (contains dried cranberries, raisins, pine nuts, slivered almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds)
• your favorite low-fat dressing (make sure it’s lowfat because it has quality ingredients and is chemical-free!)
• Pink Himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• 2 gallon-sized ziplock type bags

Wash & dry your veggies thoroughly and chop if needed. Put half of the kale in one bag and half in the other bag. Repeat with veggies & trail mix.  Use your favorite dressing over the salad…just pour right into the bag! My favorite dressing is raspberry walnut dressing. You can also try sesame ginger, balsamic vinegar or anything with a sweet/sour taste to it. Sprinkle salad with salt & pepper; seal bag & shake it to coat everything. Store bags in fridge when not in use.

This recipe makes 2 full gallon ziplock bags of salad. If this is too much, you can certainly halve the recipe.  When I make the full recipe, I only put dressing on the first bag and later add the dressing to the second bag when it’s ready to be eaten. I think the salad is even yummier the next day when the flavors meld.