Kale & Apple Salad with Honey

Whew!  Don't know about you, but I ate way too much sugar over the holidays.  I'm definitely feeling the need for some veggie-ness in my life right about now.

Enter ... our newest favorite salad green - kale.  Mark loves kale so much I swear I could make him a huge kale salad every day without him getting tired of it.  And I love the way kale is more 'sturdy' than lettuce, giving a little more heft than the typical green salad.

But that 'sturdiness' can also be problem ... a too-chewy problem.  Ahhhhhhh, but I've learned a secret ...

... a fabulously fantastic secret about preparing kale in a salad.  That makes it much more tender.  Want to know what it is?

Massage!

Yes, massage.  With your hands.

Just like us, kale loves a little massage to loosen it up.

My best friend shared this little secret with me (she learned it from eatingwell.com).    And by golly, it works!

You put your kale in big ol' bowl, add a little olive oil and whatever acid you're using (I usually use fresh lemon juice), and then massage away!  Sure, you get your hands all messy.  But that's what soap and water's for, right?  I now apply this massaging technique any time I make a salad with kale.  And totally don't mind getting my hands all olive oily.

Like when I make this Kale & Apple Salad with Honey, which is now our absolute favorite kale salad.  (Though I do put the honey in after the massage ... 'cause there are limits to the mess my hands are willing to take on.)

The chunks of freshly-diced apple, the sweetness of a bit of honey, and the crunch of a sprinkling of sunflower seeds complement the kale beautifully.

So if you've been wondering how to make your fabulous kale salads even better, give 'em a little massage.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at the result!  Oily hands and all.

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Kale & Apple Salad with Honey

Source:  A Tracey original

Ingredients

1 bunch kale
Juice of 1 lemon
1/8 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 unpeeled apple, diced
2 T. honey
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (or chopped walnuts)

Directions

1.  Wash kale well and pat dry.  Strip kale leaves from the stems, discarding stems; tear leaves into small pieces and place in a large salad bowl.

2.  Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3.  With your hands, firmly squeeze and massage the kale leaves for about 20 to 30 seconds to tenderize the greens.  (Yes, you'll get your hands all messy ... but the resulting texture of the kale is so totally worth it!)

4.  Add diced apple and honey; toss well to combine.  Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Enjoy!   

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