When coming up with new recipes we often draw on inspiration from the places we visit on a regular basis. One of our favorite all-time salads is the Superfood Salad with Acai Dressing from Whole Foods. So we decided to take all the things we love about that salad and put a Conscious Cleanse spin on it – enter the Kale Superfood Salad!
This nutrient-rich salad is packed full of superfoods like kale, red cabbage, coconut, goji berries and hemp seeds.
A quick note about kale:
We love kale but concerns about its ability to absorb heavy metals have been floating around for a while now. Here’s how you can make sure you’re getting the best quality kale: try signing up for a CSA or shopping at your local farmer’s market — this will allow you to ask your farmers directly about their heavy metal testing and soil practices.
Kale is such a healthy and versatile leafy green that taking extra care to find the best kale is well worth it!
And now, here are the other superfood stars in this salad:
Goji berries are a beautiful bright coral-hued dried fruit that just happens to be the most nutritionally dense fruit on Earth. Containing all essential amino acids, goji berries have the highest concentration of protein of any fruit. They’re also loaded with vitamin C, contain more carotenoids than any other food, have twenty-one trace minerals, and are high in fiber. And with 15 times the amount of iron found in spinach, there is no doubt that the humble goji berry is a nutritional powerhouse.
Another shining star in this salad is the hemp seed. Hemp seeds are a complete protein and contain high levels of the essential fatty acids omega 6 and omega 3. In addition to this nutritional boost, they also add great texture and flavor to any salad!
Make a big batch of this salad and enjoy it for lunch or dinner knowing it’s chock full of good-for-you vibes.
Enjoy!
With love and superfood smiles,
Kale Superfood Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup, or to taste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp fine grain sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8-10 cups lacinato kale (about 2 bunches), destemmed and finely shredded
- ½ head red cabbage, thinly shredded
- ¼ cup goji berries
- 2 pears, cored and thinly sliced, optional *omit if on the cleanse
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon, garlic, sea salt, and pepper. Adjust to taste if desired and set aside.
Put kale and cabbage in a large bowl. Pour in half of the dressing and using your hands, massage the kale and cabbage until everything is coated nicely. The kale will reduce in volume and become softer. At this point, you can add more dressing as you see fit. Let this marinate for a half hour or so.
Add the goji berries, pears (if using), onion, coconut, and hemp seeds to the bowl and toss lightly as not to bruise the pear. This salad is best eaten the day that you make it.
*Special Note: We’re bending our “eat it alone or leave it alone” fruit food combining rule in this one because the pear is easy enough to omit while on the cleanse. If you decide to go with it, enjoy and just notice any gas, bloating or constipation, post-salad.
