This is without a doubt my favorite salad, and KaleSalad
my favorite meal to make after a long day of rehearsals. The combination of all of the ingredients makes magic. I know it’s hard to imagine, but there are unfortunate souls roaming this Earth that refuse to eat kale on principle alone. A lot of this stems from the texture and the bitter taste of raw kale. I just made this salad for a friend of mine who had previously insisted that she didn’t like kale, and now I get daily snapchats of her recreating this salad! So that being said, if you are someone who identifies as a person who hates kale, I dare you to make this salad and not become obsessed with it!

This salad is a complete meal in a bowl. It has complex carbohydrates from the sweet potato, healthy fats from the tahini and creamy avocado cubes, protein from the tempeh, and all of the green goodness of the kale. I often make this salad multiple times a week because it’s delicious, easy, and full of nutrients!

Main Salad Components/Garnish: 

  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 1/2 avocado, cubed
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • A sprinkling of nutritional yeast (optional)
  • Goji Berries

Dressing:

  • 3 tbsp Tahini
  • 1 Lemon, juiced
  • 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 3 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Tamari
  • 2-4 tbsp of Water (to desired consistency)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the oven:

  • 2 Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 handful of Walnuts
  • 1 block of Tempeh seasoning (I like rosemary, pink salt, garlic powder, etc)
  • Coconut Oil

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. While it’s heating, dice sweet potatoes into cubes (using a quality knife really helps with this process). Toss sweet potato cubes in a bowl with enough coconut oil to cover all of the pieces and season with whatever you like. Lay cubes out on a tray and roast for about 40 mins, tossing them around about half way through. When your potatoes are almost all of the way cooked (approx. 30 min), add your cubed tempeh to the tray. After 35 minutes, add the walnuts so they are lightly roasted.

Assembling your salad: wash, de-stem (the stem is the most bitter part of the kale leaf, so it’s best to omit the stem) and pat dry the kale (you want to get it as dry as possible in order for the kale to absorb the dressing). Next, add all of the dressing ingredients to the bowl and massage it thoroughly into the kale with your hands. This is not a neat process, but it’s fun- you can always wash your hands afterwards!

Mix in the avocado and pomegranate once you have finished massaging your kale. Lastly, add the sweet potato, tempeh, and walnuts.

This recipe serves 2, but you may not want to share once you discover how delicious it is!

Bon appetite!