EAT: Chipotle KALE Salad!

My love for kale has been slow to develop. I like it, sure, when some else prepares it. Preparing it myself, has been frustrating and un-delectable. While home in Alberta I had the chance to catch up with Alicia Silverstone who was in town for a "Waterkeeper Alliance Fundraiser." Alicia, who wrote the "kind diet," and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy told me, that what most people don't know about kale is that it has to be worked/beaten/massaged before it is served. 

Kale is a super food, green and powerful. At only 35 calories per serving, the green provides a days worth of: potassium; which supports bone growth, and regulates blood clotting: Vitamin A; which helps with vision, growth, bone formation, tissue repair, and red blood cell production: Fiber; which helps regulated the digestive system. 

To make your kale dishes as tasty as possible, remove the leaves from the thick middle stem, and wash/dry the leaves. Then tear the kale into bite sized pieces. Toss the leaves in a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and salt. Work the leaves, getting your hands dirty until you notice the leaves turn from a dull green to a bright and beautiful color. 

Wilted Kale Salad with a Chipotle Dressing:

2 heads of kale

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup grape tomatoes -sliced

1 red bell pepper -chopped

2 carrots -grated

1-red onion- chopped

1 cucumber -sliced

Dressing:

1 avocado

1 cup lite silken tofu

1 chipotle pepper in abodo sauce

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp agave syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

So first prep the kale with a little salt and olive oil. Then add the  tomatoes, grated carrots, red bell pepper,  onion, and cucumber. Mix together and set aside. 

In a blender combine the avocados, chipotle pepper, lemon juice, agave syrup and vinegar. Blend until the mix is smooth, combined, and somewhat creamy. 

Slowly mix the dressing into the kale salad, by hand making sure to toss the salad well. 

I personally like to add some baked sweet potato bites to this salad, because the sweetness of the potato cools down the spice of the chipotle brilliantly. Bake the sweet potatoes before you make the salad to ensure perfect salad timing. 

-Enjoy!