Friday, December 4, 2009

Dinosaur Salad




Occasionally, I eat healthy!  :)  So I thought for a fun change of pace, I'd post about something fresh and wholesome.  I present you with Dinosaur Salad!  I call it this because it features some produce I don't think many people know about or else fail to utilize very often: Lacinato Kale (or Dinosaur Kale, as it is playfully called).  This unusual vegetable appears to be a close relative of wild cabbage, and is also related to broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts.  The leaves are dense and have a strong flavor, like that of cabbage or broccoli.  But Dino Kale sports more of all the good stuff, like vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, etc, than other members of it's Brassica oleracea family.  Well, it looked mighty charming at the grocery store one evening, and I'd heard good things about it, so I purchased some.  Even though I think most people probably cook the life out of the poor plant before they eat it, I decided to enjoy mine raw, in a salad.  I don't have exact amounts for this recipe, mostly just a list of ingredients.  But that's the beauty of green salads; they're a work of art--different every time!

Dinosaur Salad

Organic Ingredients:

Vegetables:
dino kale leaves, remove stems and chop
red leaf lettuce, remove stems and chop
carrots, shredded
red cabbage, chopped
sweet onion, diced
avocado, sliced
tomato, sliced

Dressing:
a squeeze of flaxseed oil
a squeeze of fresh lemon
a dash of sea salt
a dash of pepper

If you make a huge bowlful, be sure to add the dressing to your individual serving only.  Plus, what you don't eat makes a healthy leftover to store in your fridge; you CAN get great nutrition while indulging those uncontrollable munching urges!  How's that for a change?!    

Be brave--try something new!  Enjoy!


4 comments:

VeganHeartDoc said...

I have never heard of dinosaur kale, but I'll have to put that on my list of things to try!

Vegan Valerie said...

Vegan Heart Doc,

It is so nice to get a comment from you!

Dinosaur kale is very good! I hope you like it! You'll have to let me know if it appeals to your taste.

I always enjoy your blog, so I'll talk to you again soon! :)

Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Tamra said...

We love dinosaur kale at our house! Yummy with lemon and olive oil and hemp seeds!!!

Vegan Valerie said...

Hi Tamra!

It's great to hear from you! I am so glad to hear that you love dino kale too! It DOES make a great salad, huh!

Your homemade dressing sounds really good! And I should seriously try hemp seeds! I'm certainly not averse to it, just haven't tasted them yet.

By the way, your girls and their blogs are very precious! It has been rewarding to read along and leave comments for them. It's an easy and fun way to stay connected!

Love you, Tam! Thanks for stopping by!