The Trick to a Great Kale Salad

A portion of kale is hard to beat when talking about the number of nutrients and minerals it contains. It is great to include if you want a healthy and balanced diet. There are so many benefits of eating the green stuff including a high source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as improve blood glucose control in diabetics, lowering the risk of cancer and blood pressure and improving bone healthy!

So that leads me on to introducing a trick to creating a great Kale Salad.

The trick to the perfect kale is, as weird as it sounds, a good massage. It might seem odd to massage your food but the transformation after a few minutes of rubbing kale leaves can, turn the leaf from bitter, crunchy and tough to sweet and silky!

The reason it has such a transformation, is because the massage breaks down kale's tough cellulose structure (A bit of science for you!). In this process those enzymes are released and go to work on the cell's carbohydrate supplies and turning them into simple sugars. The leaves darken, wilt and shrink as well as becoming silky.


The beauty is that it only takes 5 minutes to prepare and only one bowl to wash up!

Ingredients:

3 big handfuls of kale leaves

1-2 dessert spoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons of organic tamari sauce (Gluten free)

2-3 teaspoons of tahini

A squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper (optional)

Instructions:

1) Wash the kale leaves with cold water and then roughly dry with a salad spinner or tea towel.

2) Rip out the stems from the kale (you can eat them but they are tough and dont taste as nice!).

3) If you are using big leaves, tear them into bite-size pieces. Place kale in a large bowl and then add all remaining ingredients.

4) Now for the messy part, with your hand, rub the dressing into the kale. Don't be afraid to really rub and squeeze because you will after a minute or two see the leaves becoming silky and shrunken.

5) The kale is now ready to add the remaining salad ingredients of your choice!

Here are some suggestions to pair with the kale:

- Avocado and quinoa

- Avocado and cashews

- Houmous and shredded carrot 

- Salmon fillet and butternut squash pieces.

- King prawns and quinoa

- Chicken, bacon, avocado and pine nuts

- Beetroot, tomato, sweet potato and pine nuts.

Above is the perfect base to the kale salad, the kale is rubbed down and ready. Added spinach leaves and quinoa to then top with whatever I fancy!


Below is one of my favourite kale salad combo, of avocado, cashews and a side of king prawns.