Cranberry Kale Salad

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I sure did! I finished the first draft of my 3rd and final proposal, so today and over the weekend, I just need to work on "TOC" style images, presentation, finding typos, and refining my brilliance. After a solid, long work day, I shared Thanksgiving dinner with my two best friends. After dinner-- the menu was shared with you this week-- we ate warm gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (they work amazingly with oat flour!), a brandy drink I developed that we entitled Pumpkin Desirrrrre, and watched Legally Blonde. What a great celebration! I really look forward to hosting Thanksgiving at my house when I own one and am "grown-up."

To close out the week, I'm sharing the recipe for our Cranberry Kale salad. Kale salads can be a bit mystifying at first, since the leaves are so hearty in comparison to other salad greens and many people have trouble digesting it when it's eaten raw. However, a raw kale salad can be quite tasty! Kale also has the benefit that it keeps with dressing on amazingly: this is a salad you can make with dressing the night before and have no worries about finding a soggy mess in your lunch box the next day. Plus, at least once a week, I tell you about the nutritional benefits of kale and cruciferous vegetables, so you already know how much of a nutritional punch this salad will deliver! Paired with sunflower seeds and olive oil for the healthy fats, this salad is a real winner, especially if you feel you still need to recover yesterday's feast.

Cranberry Kale Salad

1 bag fresh kale
3T balsamic vinegar
3T olive oil
fresh cracked black pepper and garlic to taste
dash of fresh cracked sea salt
1/3c sunflower seeds
1/3c dried cranberries

In a large bowl, combine kale, oil, vinegar, and spices. Reach your hands in to vigorously massage the kale to help the leaves absorb the flavors. Top with cranberries and sunflower seeds. (They'll drift down anyways as your serve it, so don't mix it up or you'll get a concentration at the bottom.) Serve and enjoy!