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!

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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

Spanish Kale

This is what I call Spanish kale, one of my favorite go-to dishes. It comes together really quickly and requires minimal fuss. I’ve written measurements below, but I seldom actually measure anything. I toast a handful of pine nuts, then add a glug of olive oil, generously shake in some smoked paprika and toss in the kale. It’s a wonderful addition to lunch bowls with some grain, protein and hummus, but it goes with so many different things. It’s shown here with some Banza gluten-free mac ‘n cheese (boxed) because I’m slowly learning that sometimes kids need an element of fun added to their plates (it’s only taken me 7 years :). This meal has been a summer lunch favorite at our house, kale and all.

You’ll see when you make this that the kale cooks down very quickly. This recipe is written for one bunch, but our family can easily eat two bunches in one sitting so feel free to scale up. And stock up on kale :)

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Spanish Kale

Note: The only two “tricks” to this recipe are to not let the pine nuts burn, and to have your kale chopped and ready before adding the olive oil and smoked paprika. I toss the kale into the pan immediately after the olive oil and smoked paprika and stir right away to cool things down so the olive oil doesn’t smoke and the paprika doesn’t burn. Also, I generally use Lacinato kale here (also called Tuscan, black or dinosaur kale), but it can be made with curly kale with good results.

Handful of raw pine nuts
Glug of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
I bunch Lacinato kale, de-stemmed and sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
Sea salt to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and toss in the pine nuts. Dry toast, stirring every so often, for several minutes until they are darker in color and smell nice and toasty. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add in a glug of olive oil and the smoked paprika, then very quickly toss in the kale and give everything a good stir. Season with sea salt and continue to sauté, stirring continuously, for a minute or so until the kale collapses just a bit and is evenly coated with olive oil and smoked paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve alongside whatever you like and enjoy :)

Serves 2-4

Strawberry Kale Smoothie

This is our house smoothie and a great way to drink your kale if you need more greens in your life. It’s high in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), vitamin K, folate, and a myriad of other vitamins and minerals. We usually make a big blender full (which we call “mega smoothie”) for all four of us. I’m including the larger version as well as a single version below.

We bought our first Vitamix some years back despite my husband’s resistance and skepticism, which by the way, quickly turned into unabashed enthusiasm once he saw what it could do. If you’re interested in making smoothies to up your family’s fruit and vegetable intake, I highly recommend investing in one. It blends smoothies into creamy oblivion and therefore (scientifically speaking :) will notably increase your produce intake.

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Strawberry Kale Smoothie
Inspired by the Strawberry Cucumber Smoothie from Superfood Smoothies by Julie Morris

Notes: Play around with the proportions that work for you. The big variable is the kale, and how much you can handle before it tastes too “green.” This is different for different people (and kids, ha!). If you’re not sure, start with less and taste. Then add more and re-blend if you feel like it could use more. I usually use Lacinato kale, but curly kale also works. Also, you may choose to add more or a bit less water, depending on whether you prefer a thicker milkshake-like smoothie or a thinner juice-like one. If you’d like it more creamy, add more cashews. If you’d like it sweeter, add another date or two.

Special equipment:
Vitamix or other high-powered blender

Single serving portion:
Small handful raw cashews (about 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons)
Generous 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
Filtered water to cover most (but not quite all) of the strawberries
1 Medjool date, pitted
1 1/2 inch piece of a medium cucumber
2-4 medium Lacinato kale leaves, de-stemmed

4 serving portion:
1/2 cup raw cashews
3 cups frozen strawberries
Filtered water
3 Medjool dates, pitted
1/3 - 1/2 medium cucumber, roughly sliced
Between 1/2 and 1 bunch kale (depending on size and preference), leaves de-stemmed

Put the cashews in the blender, followed by the strawberries, and pour in the filtered water to almost cover the strawberries (I stop about an inch and a half before the top of the strawberries). If you don’t have a high-powered blender, it helps to let the cashews and strawberries soften up in the water for a bit before blending. Add the dates, cucumber and kale and blend until smooth. Drink and enjoy :)