#kale yeah

A lot of people ask me to post recipes, and I always say I will, but then I never do... I think this is partly because for some of my most favorite things I make regularly, I don’t follow a recipe, so its hard to know the correct measurements. That being said, I got a lot of comments asking to post the recipe for the kale salad I shared on Instagram yesterday, so here goes! 

You can use any kale: curly, flat, baby, Russian, red, whatever floats your boat. I actually just did a quick google search on types of kale and found this: 

“Avoid curly and red kale in dishes where the green is served raw, as their heartier texture can be unpleasantly toothsome, even after ribboning or massaging. Dinosaur kale, also know as lacinato or Tuscan kale, is more tender than curly and red kale, making it a good candidate for raw and shortly cooked dishes.”

So there ya go! I usually wash all my veggies in fruit and veg wash (I like the Thieves fruit & veg wash from Young Living, Honest makes a good one too, most markets probably carry a good natural one as well) Most people don’t know this, but most organic produce is still sprayed with some type of pesticide, its just usually a more natural one. But you don’t want to be ingesting a bunch of copper, so its important to wash all fruit and veg, regardless of whether or not is or organic or not. 

I like give my kale a quick rinse,  then let it soak in a bowl with fruit and veg wash for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a colander and give it a good rinse. 

I like to remove the kale leaves from the stalk, because I don’t like chunks of hard stalk in my salad. If you start at the end of the kale where the stalk is the thickest, you can peel back the kale at that end, and then kind of strip the stalk of the rest of the kale, by holding the stalk with 2 fingers and then making a loose grip fist and just strip it off. From there i usually tear or cut the kale into bit size piece, and then add to a bowl, where I sprinkle with some sea salt. This starts to break down the kale and makes it soft. When I have all the kale in the bowl, I add some olive oil, alternatively you can use sesame oil. And then a squeeze of lemon juice. Now it is time to manage your kale. You just stick your hands in that bowl, and you massage the kale, and you will see right before your eyes how it turns bright green as it starts to soften. The amount of kale will shrink as it breaks down. For a group I will use 1- 2 bunches of kale, for just me, I use 1/2 a bunch. For the family, usually 1 bunch is enough. 

After the kale is nice and soft, I like to do a little taste test and add more pink sea salt if need be, or more lemon juice, more olive oil, etc.. Now you have the perfect canvas for whatever you are craving! 

I love adding nutritional yeast (like a lot! so it becomes super “cheesy”), hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, alternatively you can use lime juice instead of lemon juice which is a totally addicting refreshing combo with the kale. I usually add diced avocado and some times cherry tomatoes. You could totally bake up some Gardein fake chicken fingers, slice em and put them on top, or do a nice hunk of grilled wild salmon, or some rotisserie chicken. You could also add fresh parmesan, cucumbers, sesame seeds, quinoa, garbanzo beans, etc... Seriously the world is your kale oyster! 

This is one of my favorite salads to make and its soo easy. I love this salad with just about everything. Sometimes I just add whatever is in the fridge. Its very versatile and a great yummy way to get your greens. Seriously on tour we make this in one of those plastic produce bags and its delicious. As long as you get the kale coated with some olive oil and sea salt you are good to go! 

For general reference, you will need: 

-1 bunch of kale

-1 pinch of salt (preferably Himalayan pink sea salt)

-Oil of your choice: Olive, sesame, etc.. for drizzling just enough to coat the kale

-Lemon or lime juice (I usually do 1/4, but just depends on how much salad you are making)

Whatever toppings you want:  -Nutritional yeast -Pumpking seeds -Hemp seeds -Avocado -Cherry tomatoes -Shredded carrots -Rotisserie Chicken -Grilled Salmon

Some homemade sourdough croutons would be delicious in this too! 

Hope this all makes sense, enjoy + have fun!

-T

PS. If you have a dehydrator, this is my all time favorite cheezy kale chip recipe, been making this one for years! 

A kale bouquet given to me on tour! Now you're speakin’ my language...

Making a Kale salad backstage in a dressing room somewhere in Florida