Fully Loaded Kale Salad

By Vegiegail

Zesty-sweet tahini dressing gently coats the perky, curly shreds of fresh, raw, dark green kale leaves. Each tender fluffy forkful is clustered with complex flavors and kale textures. Salty-sweet with a hint of bitter. The kale is tender yet chewy - even a tad crunchy. Flavor-infused leaves.

Ingredients

• Toppings (as shown - but you can add your faves):
• 1 large bunch of kale (any variety) - remove thick stems/shred leaves by hand
• 2-3 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 2-3 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup apple, sliced
• 1/2 avocado, diced/tossed in lemon juice
• handful of cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup juice-packed mandarin oranges
• 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
• fine black pepper
• Dressing:
• 2 1/2 Tbsp tahini
• 3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tsp healthy oil (I used macadamia nut oil - grape seed oil also nice)
• 1 tsp grade B maple syrup (optional - if you need extra sweetness to balance the bitterness of tahini)

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from kblog.lunchboxbunch.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.Wash your kale, dry well. Pull tender leaves from thick lower stems. Shred leaves by hand. Add to large mixing bowl. Discard thick stems.
2. Briskly mix together the dressing ingredients. Do a taste test and adjust as desired for your tastes. You can always add in more maple syrup if your tahini is too bitter. I also like to add in an extra splash of apple cider vinegar when I'm craving a very zesty salad.
3. Toss your kale salad in your dressing. I use salad tongs instead of my hands (some will massage the kale) I actually like my kale a tad al dente (not overly marinated with dressing) so I simply toss with tongs until the dressing is evenly distributed.
4. Fold in the hemp seeds and sunflower seeds.
5. Add the remaining toppings in a lovely pattern on top.
Serve!

To attain "fully loaded" status I would really need to add the following..

Smoky maple tempeh cubes, black olives, sliced roasted peppers, shredded carrots, raw or sauteed mushrooms, chopped spinach blended in, a dollop of mashed cheezy-garlicky-hemp potatoes or maple sweet potatoes, perhaps a few homemade croutons and maybe an extra drizzle of buttery macadamia nut oil..

..Oh and nuts. Maybe a few nuts sprinkled over top. Sliced almonds. Or pecans. Or maybe just some pepitas. And a layer of seasonal fruit. Mangoes. Peaches. More citrus. Or perhaps some sliced pear. But pears go well with walnuts, so I'll need to change the nut component. Sprinkle of nutritional yeast for the walnuts. Vegenaise. I need some sprouted grain toast with a slathering of Vegenaise on the side. Or maybe just more seeds for crunch. Hmm.