Recipe for Super Food Salad

Last week I was in the grocery store, and I came upon one of those sample tables featuring a yummy looking salad. Since I am gluten intolerant, I always check the ingredients before I grab a sample - just to be on the safe side.

I asked the nice demo lady, "so, what's in this salad?" She told me it was a kale and cranberry salad with edamame - "it's full of super foods!" she proclaimed. I read the label.  Hooray! it was gluten free, so I tried it.

It was AMAZING!

Now that's really saying something, coming from me, because I hate kale. Oh, I have really tried to like kale. Really I have! It is one of the most nutritious foods you can possibly eat - I know that all too well. I do buy kale all the time, but I never eat it. It really doesn't go to waste though - we feed it to our tortoise, Oscar  🙂  He really loves it, but try as I might ... I have never found a recipe that I enjoyed it in.

Until now! As soon as I walked away from the sample table, I grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down the ingredients from memory. I bought what I needed to make the salad, and when I got home I got busy creating my own recipe, that I call Super Food Salad.

  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the flavor improves the longer it sits in the fridge, too! Kale is pretty hardy - it absorbs the dressing like a marinade without getting soggy, and that characteristically bitter kale after taste disappears when the salad has been chilled for a few hours.

And it really is loaded with all kinds of super nutrients! Kale contains vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, calcium, iron, potassium, and even tryptophan! Edamame contains calcium, iron, fiber, protein, and vitamin C. Sunflower seeds contain vitamin E, B vitamins, manganese, copper, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, and folate. Can you believe that?

Try it for yourself, and if you're so inclined, please leave me a nice comment and let me know what you think!