Sweet Quinoa, Kale & Apple Power Salad

What makes this a "power salad" you may ask? Will you feel like a bad ass powerful health god or goddess, you may ask? I honestly have no idea, but I will say that this is about as tasty as kale comes. I think that alone qualifies this as a powerful salad.

Sweet Quinoa, Kale & Apple Power Salad

Serves:

Active Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For The Salad

• 4 cups chopped kale
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (I prefer a garlic and basil flavored blend)
• 1 mini seedless cucumber, chopped
• 1 small honeycrisp apple cut into small cubes
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Option: Add marinated, cooked chicken to make this salad even more heavenly.

For The Dressing

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 of a minced shallot (or 1 tbsp. minced yellow onion)
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a sealable Tupperware or mason jar. Shake vigorously for about 45 seconds or until all of the ingredients have emulsified. (You can tell everything is emulsified when the oil does not separate from the other ingredients.)

3. Toss salad together with the dressing and enjoy! This is a great meal prep salad because the kale does not wilt easily so it will hold up for several days.

Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

MY RECOMMENDATION:

Oyster Bay- find it at Total Wine

WHY IT WORKS:

• Marlborough sauvignon blanc is know for its bright, sharp acidity. Sauvignon blanc is typically a high acidity wine, but Marlborough is a step above the rest.
• It typically has notes of citrus, grapefruit, lemon, apple, tropical fruits and freshly cut grass.
• The citrus and apple notes in this wine mimic the bright flavor of lemon in the dressing and the apple tossed throughout the salad.
• I will warn you that it is far too easy to polish off the entire bottle of this baby. Get after it, my friends.