Kale, Cabbage, Carrot & Cilantro Salad

This is my favorite salad and, in my opinion, it’s the salad to beat. It’s a delicious, nutrient powerhouse of a salad. You’re getting loads of fiber and nutrients in each bite. Kale offers a large multitude of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients and is particularly high in vitamins K, A and C. Cabbage is high in vitamins C and K as well as folate, and is fantastic for your gut health. And with both cabbage and kale you get the impressive benefits of the cruciferous family including heart disease and cancer prevention. Carrots are high in vitamin A in the form of beta carotene which is great for your vision and immune system. And cilantro is very effective in lowering blood sugar. Eaten consistently, this salad can give your health a big boost.

There are two main tricks to making this salad great. (1) Use good kale. Overly mature kale will ruin any raw preparation. If you have overly mature kale on your hands, I highly recommend using it up (and cooking it down) in a recipe such as this Spanish Kale. And (2) SLICE THIN. This is important if you’re trying to win people over to eating more kale and cabbage salads. Thinly sliced vegetables, dressed with a good vinaigrette, make for a very enjoyable eating experience. If you slice the kale, cabbage and carrots very thinly (the cilantro can be roughly chopped), you’re golden! I promise :) I usually toss this salad with this mustard vinaigrette, but you could use a wide variety of dressings here. You can also dress it with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

This salad is delicious served with all kinds of things. It goes very well with steak or roast chicken if you’re cooking meat, and it’s also great on top of some warmed quinoa, or as part of a grain / legume bowl.

I hope you like it as much as we do!

~~~~~

Kale, Cabbage, Carrot & Cilantro Salad

Note: I make about this much for a side salad for 4 or a main course salad for 2. Kale leaves can vary a lot in size so use this as a rough guide. After you make if a few times, you’ll learn the proportions you like of each vegetable and you’ll never look at the recipe again :)

3-6 Lacinato kale leaves,, destemmed and sliced thinly crosswise, then cut down the middle once lengthwise
About an equal volume of green cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
About 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Vinaigrette of your choice
Roasted pepitas or sunflower seeds to serve on top (optional)

Assemble the kale, cabbage, carrot and cilantro in a salad bowl, add your favorite vinaigrette, and toss gently. Serve with seeds sprinkled on top, if desired.

Serves 2 as a main meal, 4 as a side

Carrot Ginger Soup

One of my favorite healing soups, this is my take on carrot ginger. I make it with homemade chicken broth, you could also use vegetable broth or water. I use a good amount of ginger, but feel free to play around to find a ginger level that you like.

This makes a large portion of soup that will last for several days. Alternatively, it freezes really well too. Enjoy!

~~~~~

Carrot Ginger Soup

Note: A high-powered blender will make this soup silky-smooth. If you don't have a high-powered blender, then let the carrots simmer in the broth a bit longer until they're as soft as you need for the blender you have.

Special equipment:
Vitamix or other high-powered blender

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium/large yellow onion, chopped
3-4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
Thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2.5 pounds of carrots (about 3 bunches), chopped into pieces about 1/3 - 1/2 inch thick
6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
1 can full-fat coconut milk
Sea salt to taste (I usually use 2.5-3 teaspoons with unsalted broth)

Heat the coconut oil in a large stock pot over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and stir for a minute. Next add the ginger and sauté for another minute or two more, then finally add the ground cumin and stir well. Everything should be very fragrant at this point.

Next add the carrots and stock (or water) and turn the heat to high. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, cover the stock pot, and reduce heat down to low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the carrots soften a bit (see note above).

Add the coconut milk and stir until it's dissolved. Now it's time to blend the soup, which you will most likely have to do it in batches. You'll need another pot or large bowl for the already pureed soup. When you're done, pour all of the pureed soup back into your original pot and salt to taste. I use unsalted chicken broth and usually put in 2.5-3 teaspoons. If you're using unsalted broth or water, start with 2 teaspoons and go up 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to taste. If you're starting with a salted broth, taste first and then add 1/2 teaspoon at a time as needed until the soup doesn’t taste flat.