Warmed Kale Salad

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 servings

Salad:

1 white onion, sliced
2 large golden beets, cubed (leave skin on)
1 medium sweet potato, cubed (leave skin on) – should yield 2 cups of cubes
1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed (reserve!), peeled with a vegetable peeler and cubed
2 teaspoons grape seed oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large head kale, chopped

Garlic Maple Dressing:

4 teaspoon apple cider raw vinegar
2 teaspoon maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 small cloves garlic, minced

Add Ons:

8 prunes, sliced
squash seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400F and set aside a baking sheet. No need to cover it with parchment or silicon baking mat.

2. Drop sliced onion, beets, sweet potato, squash, oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Toss with hands until everything is coated. Give a good shake of salt and pepper and place in the oven.

3. Roast for 30-35 minutes, rotating halfway through.

4. When the veggies are about 2 minutes away from completion, remove from the oven, place the chopped kale on top and return back to the oven.

5. Meanwhile, combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

6. Remove the squash guts form the seeds. Place them in a frying pan with a dash of salt and pepper. Heat on medium-low heat. Roast until golden, stirring often.

7. When veggies are done, transfer to a bowl, add dressing, prunes and toasted squash seeds.

8. Serve it up!

Source:  Leanne Vogel

Kale Salad

Take a break from the same old lettuce salad. Try this creative mix of kale, tomato, and sweet pepper tossed with a captivating Asian dressing.

Ingredients: 

• 3   cups finely chopped fresh kale leaves
• 1   plum tomato, chopped
• 1/3  cup chopped red sweet pepper
• 1/4  cup pitted ripe olives, quartered lengthwise
• 3   radishes, thinly sliced and halved if desired
• 2   green onions, sliced
• 2   tablespoons raw sunflower kernels

Asian Dressing:

• 3   tablespoons lemon juice
• 3   tablespoons water
• 2   tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2   teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2  teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4  teaspoon garlic powder

   

  Directions:

  
  

  1. In a large bowl, combine kale, tomato, sweet pepper, olives, radishes, green onions, and sunflower kernels. Toss gently to mix.

  2. Drizzle Asian Dressing over vegetables. Toss gently to coat. Makes 4 (1-cup) side-dish servings.

   

  NoteAsian Dressing: In a screw-top jar, combine lemon juice, water, reduced-sodium soy sauce, olive oil, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cover and shake well. Chill until ready to serve or for up to 1 week. Makes 1/2 cup.

   

  Source: Food.com

Quinoa Kale Patties

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
4 eggs, whisked
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3 spring onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup steamed kale, chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs ( GF friends, be sure to use GF breadcrumbs. See my note at the end of the recipe for making your own.)*
1 teaspoon olive oil
optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, lemon juice, salsa verde, garlic oil

 Directions:


If you happen to already have leftover cooked grains on hand, this recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups. Otherwise, whip up some quinoa from scratch. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa thoroughly and place the grains in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Allow quinoa to soak for 15 minutes. Then, with the lid on the pan, bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until quinoa is tender and has absorbed the liquid - about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temp.

In a large bowl, mix together cooked quinoa, eggs, Parmesan, spring onions, garlic, salt, steamed kale, and breadcrumbs. Let everything sit for a few minutes to absorb the liquid. You want the batter to be moist, but not runny. Form patties and get your pan ready for cooking.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook up to 6 patties at at time (don't overcrowd the pan). Cover the pan and let the cuties cook for 7-10 minutes until the underbellies are a deep rich brown. Flip and cook the other side for another 7-10 minutes until both sides are nice and brown. Let patties rest on a cooling rack while you finish the next batch.

I ate my patties topped with avocado, lemon juice, cilantro, a drizzle of really nice olive oil, and sea salt. If you want to pack your patties to eat for lunch at work and want an easy topping, just chop up some avocado and place it in a container with salsa verde and you're ready to go.

Note: If you don't want to eat all the patties right away, go ahead and refrigerate the batter and cook patties up to order at a later moment.


*A Note on gluten-free breadcrumbs... For my gluten-free friends that are new to making your own breadcrumbs, here's how you do it. Toast up a few slices of bread (or those lonely end-pieces) until they are dry. Tear the toasted bread up into chunks, toss them in the blender. Pulse a few times and you've got homemade breadcrumbs. So easy... and I love to put scraps to good use!

makes 12 small patties

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

6 servings

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.

With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.

Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Amount Per Serving (6 total)

Kale Cups

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, ribs removed and roughly chopped (8 to 10 cups)

1/2 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon miso, preferably white or yellow (optional)

1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 teaspoon lemon zest 

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (optional)

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a food processor, pulse kale until finely chopped. You’ll probably need to do this in two batches. Add kale to a large bowl along with ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, shallot, garlic, miso, thyme, lemon zest, nutmeg and chili flakes. Mix well until all the ricotta has blended in with the kale. Divide among 10 medium-sized muffin cups and bake 20 minutes. Let cool several minutes before unmolding.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and toast sesame seeds until golden, about 3 minutes. Serve kale cups with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds on top.

Switch Hits:

• Replace ricotta cheese with cottage cheese
• Use spinach or Swiss chard instead of kale
• Try using hemp seeds as a garnish