Kale and Avocado Salad

This salad may be  IS the King Kong of salads. It is quite possibly one of the healthiest and most nutritious meals you can have for lunch, snack, or dinner (kale has a ANDI score of 1,000). It meets almost all dietary restrictions (no oil, limited salt, no meat, dairy free) and gets richness from tangy avocado – a healthy fat. I became mildly addicted to a similar salad that Whole Foods makes in their prepared, raw foods section. Their version had a bit too much lemon for me and I much prefer not paying four bucks every time I crave this. The best part about making this at home is that you can add whatever you like to it. I tend to make a different version each time. Ingredients I have added include: mango; apple; chickpeas; and, zucchini ribbons. It is important not to let your significant other watch you make this as the massage the kale gets might invoke jealousy. In order to break down the fibrous raw kale, you must massage lemon juice and salt (for proper flavoring) into the kale. Really put some elbow grease during this rub down and you will not believe that the Kale, properly softened, is not actually cooked.

 Words of caution – if you do not like Kale, you may not like this salad. This is not for those who (quite inexplicably) despise kale. It tastes like kale. It is great for all the kale lovers out there. Which reminds me, D recently bought me a shirt that says KALE on it – it is amazeballs (and indicative of how much kale I eat). I am pretty sure he stole it a bite or two even though he pulls a gag face when I pull big bundles of kale out of the fridge. Time to sneak some kale into his quinoa…

Note: The pictured version includes mango, radish and apple. Feel free to use one, two or all.

Kale and Avocado Salad

Serves Four

One bunch Green Kale
One large Haas Avocado
One half red onion, very thinly sliced
One red apple, thinly sliced (sub mango or other fruit if desired)
Two teaspoons Kosher Salt
Juice of One lemon

De-stem the kale leaves and wash well. Drain leave and tear roughly. In a large bowl combine the kale, red onion, and avocado. Sprinkle mixture with salt and squeeze lemon juice directly onto the greens. Using both hands, massage the kale while simultaneously mixing the greens. Massage strongly until kale has softened and all elements are incorporated. Add apple and black pepper to taste and mix well.

Serve on its own or with your favorite chicken salad, quinoa, fish or grilled chicken.