July 12, 2017
A few weeks ago, Will and I went to a concert in Denver and met up with some friends for dinner and drinks before the show. I’m not usually one to order a salad at a restaurant, but when I see brussel sprout anything on a menu – it draws me in. (Side note: I almost named the blog ‘The Roasted Brussel”). I love brussels but once they added kale to the combo. my dinner choice was a no-brainer. Long story short: I ordered this salad that blew my mind.
After coming home from the show, I could not stop thinking about how good this salad was and knew I had to recreate it for myself. Credit where credit is due, my post is simply a personalized version of the “Kale Yeah Mother Brussel Salad” from GreenSeed at Denver CentralMarket (stop by CentralMarket if you’re in the LoDo area. Seriously.)
Based on the recipes I’ve been posting lately, it may seem that I eat a lot of salads. Ironically, it’s somewhat of a fluke because I really don’t eat them very often. A few posts ago I discussed eating salads a LOT when I was on WeightWatchers and interning in New York City. The good ol’ days of dieting. Doing the Whole30 freed me of some unrealistic views on dieting & food rigidity. Sure, Whole30 steers you away from certain foods for the first few weeks, but the reasoning is different than traditional dieting – you aren’t restricting because of calories, you’re restricting so you can understand how certain foods affect you. In my case I had been restricting myself from wholesome foods simply to keep my caloric numbers down, when in reality I would have felt much better with some more nutrient-dense “non diet-y” options.
I’ve been reading a lot lately about human physiology and hunger hormones. There are 4 key components that seem to be key in satisfying hunger cues: Protein, Fiber, Greens & Healthy fats. Sound familiar? Very similar structure to what Whole30, Paleo & other primal lifestyles are based on. Not only do I keep these in mind when building a salad, but they also serve as a ground floor for all of my meals. This solid checks all four boxes and then some.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches kale finely chopped
- 5 C shaved Brussels sprouts
- 1 C cherry tomatoes
- 9-10 slices bacon, crumbled
- 1/2 C chopped almonds
- 1/2 C golden raisins
- 1 Avocado diced
- 1/2 C goat cheese (optional)
- DRESSING Ingredients
- 1/2 C olive oil
- 1/4 C white balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp honey
Instructions
- 1. Combine all dressing ingredients
- 2. Combine all salad ingredients into a large bowl.
- 3. Combine dressing & salad.
