No joke! The BEST Kale Salad from Angela Liddon at Oh She Glows…I’m convinced she is kind of a genius.

If you DON’T like Kale it’s only because you haven’t tried this salad yet. If you are skeptical about Kale…please try it!

If you DO like Kale, you are about to go from LIKE to love, Love, LOVE. 

The combination of super food ingredients (raisins, walnuts, hemp seed, avocado) and Lemon Tahini Dressing (recipe included) makes this salad not just a salad but a meal. Don’t waste another minute… go get your Kale and Fall In Love!

I used Angela’s tips for preparing raw Kale:

1. Remove the stems when you plan on eating it raw (and some people remove the stems for cooking too-it’s personal preference). The stems are the bitter part of the plant. I used to always use the stems and wonder why my kale salads tasted ridiculously bitter. Now I just use the leaves and it always turns out wonderful to the palate.

2. Massage the dressing into the leaves and let it ‘marinate’ for at least 10-15 minutes. A kale salad tastes best when the dressing has had a chance to soak into the leaves. This also helps soften the leaves which is especially important if you are using the curly variety. You don’t want it scratching your throat!

3. If you really don’t like curly kale, try Dinosaur (Lacinato) kale as it is less bitter.

“The BEST” Kale Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large head of kale (about 4-6 cups)
• 1 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped carrot (2 small carrots)
• 1 English cucumber (2 cups chopped halves)
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 & 1/4 cup chopped grape tomatoes (or other variety)
• 1/2 cup mixed raisins (I picked up a gourmet mix that included Flame, Thompson and Golden Raisins)
• 1/4 cup hemp seed
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• Dressing: 1 batch of Tahini Lemon Dressing (recipe below)
• Your desired fresh or dried herbs

Directions:

1. Chop vegetables and mix in a large mixing bowl. Reserve hemp seed and walnuts for sprinkling on top.

2. Make your Tahini Lemon Dressing in a food processor and process until smooth. (see Recipe Below)

3. Tear the leaves off of the kale and rip into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry kale leaves.

4. Mix the vegetables, kale leaves, and full batch of dressing (3/4-1 cup) in large bowl until thoroughly combined.

5. Place in fridge to ‘marinate’ for 10-15 minutes. Serves 4. Keeps in fridge in a sealed container for 1 day.

Lemon Tahini Dressing:

Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup Nutrional Yeast or a bit more, to taste
• 2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• 1 tsp sea salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth. Makes just under 1 cup.