Kale and Strawberry Salad with Creamy Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

I've been making this salad for a while now. It's my go-to lunch during the week. It's super filling and full of yummy goodies. Kale is all the trend these days, and I'm definitely jumping on board with this one. 

I just make a huge bowl of this salad and separate it into different tupperware containers for the week. If you decide to make this for lunch, be sure not to add the dressing until right before you eat it. 

The hearty kale is topped with sweet strawberries and crunchy almonds. I love the added crunch from the sunflower seeds too. The tangy goat cheese and creamy dressing is the perfect contrast of flavors. You can completely customize this recipe to suit your taste buds. Sometimes I substitute feta cheese for the goat cheese, dried cranberries for the fresh strawberries, and pecans for the almonds. It's totally up to you. 

The dressing is also super simple. I literally just put all of the ingredients into a jar and shake it all up. It only takes like 2 minutes to make! No more store bought dressing for me...this one is simple, light, refreshing and so much better for you. Enjoy! :)

Kale and Strawberry Salad with a Creamy Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the salad:
3 cups chopped kale, stems removed

1 cup mixed greens
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, hulled
1/4 cup goat cheese

For the Creamy Citrus Balsamic Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp non fat, plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Put the kale and mixed greens in a large bowl.
2. Add the strawberries, sunflower seeds, almonds, and goat cheese. Toss gently.
3. In a small mason jar, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, orange juice, honey, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Shake until mixed well.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve.

Kale Chips

I don’t know why I resisted making kale chips for so long.

Everyone seems to be blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and instagramming about how delicious and healthy they are. So...here I am. I'm jumping on the bandwagon and joining the kale chips CRAZE! I seem to be about two years late to the party...but better late than never, right?

Talk about a recipe that is super easy and satisfying — after only 12 minutes in the oven, the kale had reached a gorgeous dark green color, was perfectly crisp, and ready to be devoured! I read a lot of recipes where you could season them with a million different spices, but I figured since this was my first attempt I would keep it simple. 

Olive oil + salt = perfection.

These are the perfect snack. Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know...they’re pretty good for you, too.   :-)

Kale Chips
Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh kale leaves, well-washed and dried
2 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse sea salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Rinse the kale leaves, then put them in a salad spinner and spin away. After it comes out, dry it even more with paper towels. You want the leaves to be very dry.
• Using a knife, chop the kale into bite-size pieces (about an inch). Place pieces in a large bowl, and drizzle with olive oil. Using your hands, massage the kale until the leaves are evenly coated with the oil.
• Lay the kale pieces out evenly on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and then sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until kale is dark green and crunchy. Remove from oven, let cool, and then serve.