The Best Kale Salad

On separate occasions and in different cities, my Mom and I had the most delicious kale salad at a restaurant called True Food Kitchen. We both not only raved about it, but vowed to recreate it ourselves. The restaurant is based off of Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet, and luckily for us, Dr. Weil posted the recipe for the Tuscan Kale Salad on his website. Since that discovery, we’ve added pomegranate seeds, nuts, and other fun additions!

5-6 cups kale

1 large lemon

4 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup romano cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

1/3 cup chopped pecans

coconut bacon (optional)

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Remove the stems and rip the kale into bite size pieces. Rinse thoroughly and massage the leaves. Dr. Weil recommends lacinato kale, but you can really use whatever kind of kale looks good.

Whisk together the juice of the lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Pour over the kale and toss. I stress finding a large juicy lemon, because the acidity really works well in this salad. If you can’t find a large one, grab an extra to have on hand.

Add the pomegranate seeds and pecans.

Add the cheese and toss.

Toast 1/2 cup breadcrumbs in a dry pan over low to medium heat. Once they start to turn golden and fragrant, toss in to the salad.

At this point, you can throw in whatever else you like! I added coconut bacon for a salty, smoky crunch!

That’s it!

If it seems a little dry, add a little bit more lemon juice or olive oil.

Who says you can’t bring something healthy to a Memorial Day party?!

Isn’t it so pretty?!

Enjoy!