This bright and vibrant salad was perfect on this snowy day in New York. We unexpectedly got hit with a big snow storm! Perfect chance to get some exercise shoveling or frolicking in the snow.  This salad was so delicious and all of the flavors paired together nicely. The sweet crisp apple noodles, creamy avocado, crunchy walnuts, and nutty flavor from the quinoa all blended amazingly. “Massaging” the kale first with oil, salt and pepper helps to break down some of the tough cell walls, making the leaves softer and more easily digestible. Batch cooking a bunch of quinoa early in the week makes it easy to just throw some quinoa in from the fridge, already pre-cooked! Lately I’ve also been loving avocado oil and it’s amazing health benefits, including 10 grams of monounsaturated fat per serving! Don’t get me wrong, I love my olive oil, but this is another great one to add to your diet. It also has a very high smoke point and won’t go rancid at high temperatures, making it great for roasting veggies in the oven or sautéing on the stove.

I have a love affair with dark leafy greens, and no wonder with all of their amazing benefits, including tons of antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber, and vitamins A & C, along with B-vitamins that are great for energy and metabolism. They’re naturally low in calories and will keep you fuller, longer, helping to reduce cravings.

This is a great balanced meal and contains tons of healthy protein and fats from the quinoa, avocado and walnuts. Walnuts are also packed with omega 3 fatty acids, great for reducing inflammation and are beneficial for heart health!

Kale salad with spiralized apple, walnuts and avocado with a balsamic glaze

Serves 4 as a main meal

Ingredients:

For the salad
-About 5 cups of roughly chopped kale
-2 tbsp. avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
-sea salt and pepper
-2 avocados, cut into chunks
-1 gala apple
-1 cup of cooked quinoa
-1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced
-1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
-squeeze of lemon, for spiralized apple

For the dressing
-1/4 cup of avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
-3-4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. honey or agave nectar
-dash of salt and pepper

Method:

First, roughly chop the kale, rinse it and place in a large bowl. Coat with the avocado or olive oil, a dash of sea salt and pepper, and gently massage for about a minute, until the leaves are visibly coated and are softer. Set aside. Spiralize the apple, and squeeze a bit of lemon over them or place in a bowl of water to delay browning. Dice the avocado, chop the walnuts, and dice the red onion. Add all ingredients to the bowl of kale. Whisk together the balsamic vinaigrette ingredients. Feel free to swap for any kind of vinegar you like, such as apple cider, or red wine vinegar.

This salad also pairs deliciously with my Spicy Herbed Wild Salmon to make it a more filling meal!

If you love this recipe as much as I do and snap of photo of your creation, don’t forget to tag me @freshplates on instagram and @freshplates1 on twitter!

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ENJOY ! xox

Samantha