Recently inspired by this Power Green Salad from Sprouted Kitchen, I set out over the weekend to make my own version. The goal was to make a salad that was light but substantive enough to serve as dinner. I think this was a winning combination, for sure, and can’t wait to make it again.
Domestocrat’s Green Power Salad (makes 1 big serving but could be divided into 2, inspired by Sprouted Kitchen)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/2 cup quinoa, cooked (I used tricolor quinoa)
5 oz. kale (2-3 cups), trimmed and massaged
1 tsp. EVOO
1 green apple, minced
1/3 english cucumber, minced
2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
Any light, oil-based dressing of your choice (I simply mixed up 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar with 1 tbsp. EVOO)
Start by cooking the quinoa: 5-7 minutes over medium heat until each grain has become tender. When it is finished, strain, rinse with cold water, and set aside to cool. While the quinoa is cooking you can also be toasting the pumpkin seeds (totally optional though).
While the quinoa is cooking, prep the kale. For this recipe (and for most recipes these days) I am massaging my kale. I started first by rinsing and trimming my kale. I found this lovely bagged organic tuscan kale at Trader Joe’s but it has some thick stems I wanted to remove before massaging. After trimming I put the kale in a big bowl with a teaspoon of EVOO, pinch of salt, and massaged for 5 minutes.
After the kale has been massaged, mince up the apple and cucumber. I prefer these pieces to be quite small in this salad but feel free to cut them however you like.
Once all of the individual components are prepped and ready to go, gather them all in a big salad bowl and toss to combine.
I tried out a few different salad dressings (greek, caesar, honey mustard) to see which jived the best with this flavor combination. In the end I opted for a quick balsamic and EVOO combination, nothing fancy at all. I think the balsamic vinegar played nicely with the tart apple and earthy kale.
Pour the dressing over the top, toss to combine, and garnish with a little extra parmesan. That’s it! Super easy and really light, fresh, and healthy!
Domestocrat 
This looks awesome! Is there something you can use in place of Quinoa to still get that texture and crunch? I am not a huge fan of it, but every other ingredient in this salad looks delicious. Thanks for sharing! Follow my blog for other recipes: http://edibleepiphanies.com/
The original had lentils (which I swapped for quinoa). Will that work?
Perfect! I LOVE lentils. I was just chatting with a fellow foodie about lentils. Have you tried the Lentil Bolani (sold at Whole Foods)? It’s amazing! If you want to check out my other recipes, follow my blog edibleepiphanies.com
I haven’t but I’ll keep an eye out for it next time I’m there!
This looks healthy and the apple is a nice twist. Green apples make everything better. Just in time for spring too. I need to try this. I am looking for healthy, but un-boring food like this to help me stay on track.- So thanks!
Heidi at http://www.sixty3days.com
Thanks – so glad you liked the recipe!