gluten free salad – Trading Paper Crowns

I cannot take all the credit for this salad. Last weekend, I visited my mom and sister in Texas and learned this yummy recipe from them (of course, I changed it a tad to my taste).

Raw food is so good for you and so is kale. So, this little cold, refreshing salad is a homerun.

This strawberry kale salad is perfect for a side salad at dinner or just an addictive lunch bite. The sunflower seeds give it a little crunch and the apple cider vinegar really erases the potent taste of the rich kale.

You will need: 1 bag (or head) of kale, ½ cup raw sunflower seeds, ½ zucchini, 1 avocado, 5 tbsp. Newman’s Own Raspberry Vinaigrette, 5 strawberries, 5 tbsp. apple cider vinegar.

First, dump your kale into a large mixing bowl. Pour your apple cider vinegar on top of the fresh kale leaves. This is an important part – massage the vinegar into the leaves with your hands. This may take about 10 minutes. (No joke, do not skip out on this part).

Look at this beautiful salad!

After massaging the vinegar in, add in the raspberry dressing and massage once again for about 5 minutes.

Mash up aw hole avocado into a green paste. Once, it looks like unseasoned guacamole, add this into the kale mixture and massage once again.

I used a vegetable spiral slicer to make zucchini noodles. You only need about ½ of a zucchini; but feel free to add more to the salad mixture. Mix these in with your hands.

Add ½ cup of raw sunflower seeds. These do not have salt in them (so way better for you!)

Lastly, chop up tiny pieces of strawberry and gently fold them into your salad. Set in the fridge and enjoy for dinner, chilled. Or box it up for a little yummy work lunch the next day.

I had this delightful little salad this week for a work lunch. It was super easy to make and quite refreshing to make. It made me feel like I was being good to my body – and that really is what food should be about – nourishing you from the inside out.

Kale is a very leafy green – it has much richer, bolder taste than regular lettuce. It is commonly used in green shakes and the base plant.

Kale has so many health benefits. It has anti-inflammation properties and also fights against cancer cells. Try it. You won’t be sorry!

You will need: 2 cups of kale, 1 handful of sliced almonds, ¼ cup crasins, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 cap full of apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice.

All I did for this salad was place the greens in the food processer to make a really diced salad. I pulsed about 3 times. Just to give it a slightly chopped feel.

Dump the greens in a bowl and pour in your olive oil. Massage the oil into the leaves. Use your hands – this will allow the flavor of the greens to really pop.

I placed full almonds in the food processer and pulsed. But, you can use pre chopped almonds as well. You just want them to be small little pieces, so you can mix them in.

Pour the almonds and crasins in the bowl of greens and stir. Lastly, splash on the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. I let it sit overnight – and took it to work the next day {flavors set more this way!}

But, feel free to eat right away or serve for dinner! Yum, you are doing your body good!