Tag: kale

FitinStilettos2 Comments

Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

I don’t know about you guys, but this year is just flying by for me. It is the last week of May! This also means, you are all Kale lovers now and are waiting with bated breathe for this week’s recipe :-). You are also totally in love with my salad dressings and are using them in all your salads now. See, how well positive thinking works, I put that out there and it will be true :-).

This week’s recipe is a Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad. I love butternut squash, especially when I found out that I can purchase Organic pre-diced butternut squash from the store and not have to almost lose all my fingers trying to cut through it myself. So, if possible please look for the pre-diced container in the produce section of your grocery store and save yourself a few minutes. Butternut Squash has a lot of health benefits, it is high in antioxidants, helps with bone health, good source of potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and fiber and it also allegedly helps alleviate symptoms of PMS (you’re welcome ladies). It tastes similar to sweet potatoes but not as sweet. I use it in salads whenever possible. For this recipe I roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees but I have also boiled them. Continue reading “Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad” →

FitinStilettosLeave a comment

Kale and Pecan Salad

As I continue on my quest to make everyone that’s reading this article a Kale- lover, I am very excited to share a fourth Kale recipe with you. I hope you have all tried the last three recipes and loved them as much as I do. Kale is so good for us that by not trying it and incorporating it into your diet, you are truly missing out on some really bad-ass nutritional value. I also share with you the perfect salad dressing that goes with each salad recipe and complements it nicely.

Today’s recipe is a Kale and Pecan Salad. I used Pecan pieces for an extra nutty crunch. Pecans are a healthy nut, they are a good source of magnesium, zinc and iron and are also full of antioxidants, contribute to heart health and for us ladies pecans allegedly reduces symptoms of PMS so grab a handful the next time that time of the month rears its ugly head.

Yes this recipe includes Avocado even though the salad dressing has Avocado in it but I love Avocado and in my opinion there’s no such thing as too much but you can definitely omit it in the salad if you’re not as obsessed as I am.

Continue reading “Kale and Pecan Salad” →

FitinStilettosLeave a comment

Kale and Farro Salad

The quest continues. The quest to make all of you Kale Salad lovers. I am confident that I am half way there after you tried last weeks salad so I am going to keep the momentum going by sharing another delicious Kale Salad with you. I even made a video which you can view at the bottom of this article 🙂

Today’s salad will include one of my favorite ingredients to add to a salad- Farro. I love Farro! If you’ve never heard of it or have heard of it but never tried it, Farro is an ancient grain and it is so good for you. It is a great source of protein and fiber and also has Magnesium, Zinc, Iron and B- Vitamins. It is very nutritious and a great alternative to rice. I include it in my salads whenever possible. It only takes a few minutes to cook and has a delicious nutty texture. It can usually be found in the aisle that has the rice and other grains at the grocery store. You should definitely give it a try, I promise you will love it!

Continue reading “Kale and Farro Salad” →

FitinStilettosLeave a comment

Kale and Red Cabbage Salad

I still maintain that Kale gets an unnecessary bad rap. People take one look at the dark, wrinkly green leaves, turn the other way and choose Spinach instead. Poor Kale is like the unpopular girl in high school that never gets asked to prom. Well, I am going to make it my personal goal to change poor Kale’s reputation and you all know how I am when I set my goals. I am dedicating the entire month of May to sharing a different Kale Salad recipe with you every week and I promise you will change your opinion of Kale.

I understand why Kale may not be your most favorite choice for a salad, it doesn’t look very pretty and because it is tougher than other greens, it does take a bit more chewing. I love Kale because for one it is extremely good for you, (I talk about the health benefits in my Kale- Leafy Greens Ugly Cousin post) and for two, it holds up very well and a meal prepped salad, including with the salad dressing added to it, will last for a week in the refrigerator without wilting which is more that I can say for pretty Ms Spinach, so there! Kale is also very filling and a Kale salad for lunch will keep you full till dinner time. Last but not least, combined with the right ingredients, which I am going to share with you for the next five weeks, Kale is delicious!

Continue reading “Kale and Red Cabbage Salad” →

FitinStilettos3 Comments

Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing

You probably know by now that I am big on homemade food. I try to make everything that I can from scratch. The reason for this is simple, I want to know exactly what I am putting in my body. It took a while for me to get to this point because, much like everyone else, I liked the convenience of buying food from the store that was made already. With time being limited as it is, pre-made food is definitely the easier option. But as time went by and I became more and more health conscious and I started to pay more attention to labels and ingredients, I realized that it was taking me so much time to go through each ingredient on a product, sometimes having to google what Carrageenan meant and what in the world was a nitrate anyway, that I thought to myself that I could probably use this time to try to make some of the food that I would normally buy pre-made, myself.

One of the things I decided to make myself is salad dressing. I love experimenting and trying out different ingredients anyway, so I thought of this as a fun kitchen project. For the most part, the reason a salad converts from a healthy meal to a calorie filled one is the salad dressing. Yes, you can ask for the dressing on the side or just ask for oil and vinegar, but first, if you are like me, you like a lot of salad dressing on your salad so having it on the side only ends up with it being poured into the salad anyway and second, oil and vinegar gets dull after a while. Sometimes you want a creamy salad dressing or one with some flavor.

Continue reading “Spicy Avocado Salad Dressing” →

FitinStilettos6 Comments

Kale- Leafy Greens ugly cousin

My favorite thing to eat for lunch is a homemade Kale Salad. I make a large batch on Sunday and dole it out into Salad Bowls for lunch every day. I feel like Kale is one of those leafy greens that you wouldn’t think of getting at the grocery store. It’s not one of the best looking greens. I mean its wrinkly and dark green and looks like it would be quite the task to chew. Most people reach for Spinach or Green Leaf Lettuce or Arugula. With their bright green leaves and softer texture, it’s no surprise that poor Kale gets overlooked.
KaleKale however, has a ton of health benefits, it is high in iron, fiber and Vitamin K and is low in calories and fat. It is also an excellent source of antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties, need I say more? When combined with other healthy ingredients it makes a very delicious salad. Even though it is tougher to chew than other greens, it is totally worth it, and think of all the calories you burn from chewing. I buy Natures Greens Organic Kale Greens from my local grocery store, it comes pre-washed and pre-chopped and all I have to do it chop it up a bit more to make the leaves a bit smaller, but that’s just a personal preference.
Continue reading “Kale- Leafy Greens ugly cousin” →