Spring is here and you know what that mean – salad season! Salads are light, easy and a great way to incorporate more veggies into your daily diet. I personally love salads and eat them most days of the week. While salads can be healthy and very beneficial to health, they can also be just as easily 
detrimental. High fat dressings, and toppings, over-sized portions, or extra croutons can add up to unwanted calories. It’s important to be mindful of what is really in your salad, especially when ordering from a restaurant. Most often its best to just skip the bacon, ranch dressing and croutons. Below is a recipe to one of my favorite salads, mostly because it is flavorful and easy to whip up. If you are not a huge fan of kale, give this one a try. Massaging olive oil into raw kale helps even out the bitter taste. If you still can’t force yourself to eat kale, substitute spinach or another dark leafy green.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 head of kale, removed from stem and lightly chopped
- 5 grape tomatoes
- 1 tsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 tsp sunflower seeds
- ½ cucumber, sliced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 oz of your favorite cheese
- ¼ lemon wedge
- black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Place chopped kale in bowl. Add olive oil and massage so kale becomes evenly coated. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and top with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and black pepper.
Enjoy!
Bridget Baxter
www.bridgetbaxter.com
