Kale Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

This massaged kale salad is a hearty, fiber-filled salad with a fresh finish of lemon poppyseed vinaigrette. Eat as a simple side, or add a protein and fill your plate to create an entre out of it! Whatever your preference, it’s an easy weeknight choice and stores well for a few days.

GF, DF, EF, PNF, SF, Paleo (optional)

Ingredients

For the salad

1 bag or 1 bunch fresh kale

½ c radishes, thinly sliced

3 large carrots, shaved

¼ c pumpkin seeds (raw or roasted, your preference)

2 oz goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

For the dressing

2 tbsp avocado oil (olive oil can also be used), for drizzling kale

½ c avocado oil

1/3 c maple syrup

Juice of ½ lemon, squeezed

1 tbsp and 1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp poppyseeds

½ tsp salt

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1.     Prep the vegetables, seeds and cheese for the salad. Once the kale has been washed and torn into bite sized pieces for the salad, place in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with oil. Once kale is lightly coated with oil, you are going to “massage” or gently squeeze the kale to soften it. You will see the kale darken in color and begin to have a softer texture. Massage kale for ~3 minutes, or until very soft. (You will also notice the kale salad will shrink in overall size.)

2.     Once the kale is massaged, add the rest of the salad ingredients into the salad bowl.

3.     In a separate container, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Then mix the dressing - you can use a whisk or an immersion blender to combine and thicken it.

4.     Once dressing is finished, drizzle on salad and gently toss until all the ingredients and dressing are well combined. Serve and enjoy.