Have you noticed that kale is the new cauliflower? In other words, it’s found in just about all new recipes these days because it’s the cool thing to eat. Who knew kale (or cauliflower, for that matter) would ever be “cool”?? I work for a large University and when I see these young “Millennials” scarfing down kale I can’t help but smile. Of course, more often I see them scarfing down Gerneral Tso and pizza, but still, our last round of “Limited Time Offerings” included a pizza/flatbread with KALE! To think we actually put it on the menu because it was a request. I get goosebumps.
Here is where I would tell you the multitude of benefits of kale, but instead I’ll provide the link to the “World’s Healthiest Foods”, which explains the health benefits in detail, and also summarizes them nicely. Please make note that just about all fruits and vegetables are listed on this website of “Healthiest Foods”, because in truth all fruits and vegetables are healthy and should be consumed whenever possible. Ignore those stupid adds that try to fool you into thinking bananas or avocados or carrots aren’t good for you. They lie. Also stop focusing on those “Special Superfoods”, because in my opinion all fruits, veggies and seeds fall into that category. Why just focus on the few that have marketing to back them up?!
I will point out one benefit of kale that I believe to be widely unknown; it’s ability to bind bile acids in your GI tract and therefore possibly aid in reducing cholesterol. Cool, right? So, here is the salad I made for Easter brunch this year. Overall everyone really enjoyed it (other than my uncle’s friend who apparently doesn’t like ginger. Oh well).
Chopped Kale Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale, finely chopped (any type of kale will do)
- Fine grain sea salt, to taste
- 1 cup chopped snow peas, fresh **
- 1 large carrot, peeled and ribboned
- 1 small red bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 cup edamame (fresh or frozen, thawed) **
- 1 avocado, pitted and sliced into small chunks **
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted sunflower seeds
- Handful of cilantro, chopped
- Handful of basil, chopped
- DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. finely grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce **
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced **
Instructions
- Use a chef’s knife to remove the tough ribs from the kale, then discard them. Chop the kale leaves into small, bite-sized pieces and transfer them to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the kale with a dash of sea salt and use your hands to massage the kale by scrunching up the leaves in your hands and releasing until the kale is a darker green and fragrant. Toss the remaining salad ingredients with the kale.
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients until emulsified. Toss the dressing with the salad and serve.
Notes
** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet you can make the following modifications; omit either the snow peas or the avocado (because both contain polyols and they may have a cumulative effect if eaten together in amounts that exceed the limit per the Monash University phone app). I chose to omit the snow peas, and stuck with the avocado. If you use the snow peas, reduce the amount to ½ cup, if you use the avocado reduce the amount to ½ avocado. Next, omit the edamame (I made mine without edamame and it wasn’t missed). Lastly, instead of using garlic in the dressing, omit it and replace the flavors by using a garlic-infused olive oil.
** If you are following a gluten free diet use Tamari instead of soy sauce.
I made this recipe again the following week and packed it in my lunch for a couple days. One day I added some baked salmon and I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven.
See you next week with a post about traveling while on a low FODMAPs diet!
