This salad came to be on a really hot day last summer. I had been to the local blueberry farm and picked a whole bunch of blueberries ( my first time, very cool!) I was looking for a healthy light option to incorporate some of the berries into a salad that could be a complete meal. Something light, something nutritious.
Ta da! here it is...now my go-to salad. A combination of nutritional powerhouses; sweet blueberries, kale, spinach, quinoa, edamame and more. Dressed with a light and tasty lemon vinagrette.
Kale Quinoa "Superfoods" Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 3 cups chopped Kale ribs removed and "massaged" (instructions below)
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- â…” cup fresh blueberries
- â…” cup edamame frozen shelled, thawed
- â…” cup garbanzo beans
- ½ cup carrots grated or shredded
- ½ cup cherry or plum tomatoes
- ¼ cup dried cranberries Craisins
- ¼ cup pepitas
For "Massaging" Kale
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon minced shallot
- 1 teaspoon sugar or 2 packets Truvia
Instructions
- De-stem the kale and tear or chop into bite size pieces. Place the kale, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon sea salt, into a large mixing bowl. "Massage" the kale ( with your fingertips) for approx. 3-5 min. This process helps to tenderize the kale, making it softer and sweeter.
- Add the remaining salad ingredients and toss to mix.
Dressing
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to mason or covered glass jar. Shake to mix and emulsify the ingredients. ( or whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until mixed thoroughly).
- Dress the salad & enjoy this super healthy, superfoods salad.
Nutritional Information (calculated from Spark People)
Salad (including olive oil and lemon used to massage kale / but without dressing) (per serving=¼ of recipe)
Calories 268.4
Total Fat 10.4 g
Saturated Fat 1.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.6 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 219.0 mg
Potassium 200.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 35.6 g
Dietary Fiber 7.6 g
Sugars 10.1 g
Protein 11.2 g
Dressing (per serving = ¼ recipe)
Calories 187.5
Total Fat 21.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 15.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 0.3 mg
Potassium 4.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 1.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Sugars 1.1 g
Protein 0.1 g
Detox Girl
Very nice article, thanks 🙂
Doug
Sounds delicious, and I love all the different flavors and colors. Thanks for sharing - it reminds me of the whole foods superfood salad but with more fruits.
Bari
I love this salad and have made it twice. The one thing I notice is that when putting it into My Fitness Pal, the fat content is super high. Would you happen to have a breakdown of calories/macros?
Susan
Bari- I just added the nutritional info to the bottom of the post. I broke it down per serving (based on 4 servings) for both the salad (including the olive oil and lemon juice used to massage the kale) and the dressing separately. The olive oil is what's elevating the fat content in your calculations (albeit they are "healthy fats"). You can adjust the amount of dressing used or the amount of olive oil used to meet your needs. I'm glad you are enjoying the salad!
Bari
Awesome! Thank you so much! Just had another bowl for lunch. I am hooked! 😉
Jerry Gensler
This looks great and I will try it out. Thanks.
Renee Hull
This is a wonderful salad.