Massaged Kale Salad

Massaging Kale? Is she kidding? Nope, not kidding. Kale is a great veggie and is all the rage these days, BUT it can be hard for some to digest when eaten raw. It’s a very dense leafy green and massaging it can help break it down (aka pre-digestion) which makes it easier to digest. You can use about a tablespoon of olive oil and just get in there with your hands and massage away!     

Massaged Kale Salad

cleaneatingwithkatie
Kale is all the rage these days but for some people, when eaten raw it can cause digestive distress. When massaged with some extra virgin olive oil, it can help to make the kale more digestible. This salad is a like a taste of spring in every bite because combines many spring veggies.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Salad Ingredients

  • 8 hard-boiled eggs pasture-raised
  • 2 large beets boiled, peeled, & sliced
  • 1 bunch kale destemmed & coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup sprouted quinoa cooked
  • 6 carrots sliced into strips using a veggie peeler
  • cup pine nuts
  • 1 sumo citrus peeled & segmented
  • ¼ cup broccoli sprouts

Salad Dressing Ingredients

  • 2 lemons juiced
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic sea salt
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper

Instructions
 

  • Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large bowl with the chopped kale. Massage oil into the kale leaves until well coated.
  • Add the quinoa and toss. Then add the beet slices and carrot strips. Toss again.
  • Plate out a serving of the kale, quinoa, beet, and carrot mixture. 
  • Top with two sliced hard-boiled eggs, 3-4 segments of sumo citrus, sprouts, and some pine nuts. 
  • Add dressing ingredients into a small glass jar and shake. 
  • Drizzle dressing over the salad and enjoy!

Notes

  • I prefer to use sprouted grains whenever possible. I usually buy TruRoots, and I can find it at Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Costco. I enjoy buying Love Beets when I don't have the time to boil and peel my own. I can also find these at Costco, Whole Foods, and Sprouts. You can change out any of these ingredients and keep this salad fresh and evolving with the seasons. I chose these items because they are in season in mid spring.
Keyword gluten-free, kale salad, salad, seasonal salad

The 52 New Foods Challenge – Kumquats

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Kumquats

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making a kumquat jam or in a warm salad with green beans. Mmmmm! After my January 21 Day Sugar Detox, I bought some kumquats again and man were they tart! I think the jam may be the way to go!!

Food Facts:

  • IMG_0171Good source of vitamin C
  • Good source of fiber
  • The oval shaped variety, Nagami, is more tart, and the round variety, Marumi is more sweet
  • Eat citrus fruits shorty after buying or store them in your fridge, but do not store in a plastic bag – it retains the moisture and promotes mold growth
  • The white parts (albedo) of citrus fruits is the most nutritious – since kumquats are eaten whole- you consume a lot of the albedo.
  • Contains antioxidants called flavonoids
  • Organic citrus fruits have not been degreened

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet
by Tonia Reinhard

The 52 New Foods Challenge – Grapefruit

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Grapefruit

Grapefruits are not a new food for most of us, but Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for broiled grapefruit with a touch of honey which sounds pretty yummy. I’ve been wanting to try grilled or baked grapefruit because I think the caramelization of the sugars might make it more appealing to me. 

Food Facts:IMG_0170

  • Good source of vitamins A, C, B6, B5 (pantothenic acid), folic acid, thiamine, copper, selenium,  potassium, and magnesium
  • Good source of fiber
  • Contains antioxidants called anthocyanins, liminoids, lycopene, and carotenoids
  • The only citrus indigenous to the “new world” or the Americas (first found in Barbados)
  • They are known for helping to lower blood cholesterol, help normalize hematocrit levels (important if you are anemic), and helping to protect against cancer, macular degeneration,  and cardiovascular disease.
  • Can also help the body get rid of excess estrogen, helping to prevent breast cancer
  • Like oranges and mandarins, they are often picked when green, shipped, and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas which causes them to ripen. This causes them to look ripe but they aren’t truly ripe  and have fewer bionutrients than tree ripened fruit.
  • Grapefruits harvested after December are more likely to be tree ripened (their season is late winter/ early spring)
  • Organic Grapefruits (mandarins and oranges too) have not been degreened
  • To select the best grapefruits: look for large, smooth-skinned fruits that are heavy for their size
  • Until about one hundred years ago, all grape fruits had white flesh! The pink flesh was a natural mutation making it sweeter.
  • Some Medications and grapefruit should not be used together – meds used for blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, and those that reduce the rejection of an organ after transplant. Check with your doctor.

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet
by Tonia Reinhard. 

The 52 New Foods Challenge – Mandarins

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Satsuma Mandarin Oranges

After doing The 21-Day Sugar Detox, this was one of my first fruits. I really enjoy eating a couple Mandarins for a snack. Like some of the other foods in the book, mandarins are not a new food for most of us, but Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for mandarin orange and fennel salad which sounds pretty yummy.

Food Facts

IMG_0480

  • Good source of vitamins A, C, B6, thiamine, calcium, folate, potassium, and magnesium
  • Good source of fiber
  • Contains antioxidant carotenoids: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin, as well flavonoids: tangeretin and nobiletin
  • They are known for helping to control blood glucose, lowering blood cholesterol, and helping to protect against cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and cardiovascular disease.
  • Like oranges, mandarins become sweeter and less acidic as they mature.
  • They are often picked when green, shipped, and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas which causes them to ripen. This causes them to look orange but they are more acidic, less sweet, and have fewer bionutrients than tree ripened fruit.
  • Organic Mandarins (and oranges) have not been degreened. 
  • Many of the nutrients in Mandarins are concentrated in the inner peel and the white pulp.

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet by Tonia Reinhard