Recipe ReDux Post # 82: Power Salad

The Recipe ReDux for May is "Shower Season," meaning we were challenged to develop healthy recipes that could be served at brunches and showers for this time of year....think graduations, bridal baby showers galore!

Vegetables and salads are often overlooked or ignored at these types of gatherings so I wanted to create a salad that would be enticing enough for guests to choose to put it on their plate for its flavor, not just for obligatory health benefits. I tried a combination of trendy kale salad mix, balanced out with some simple butter lettuce, added some fresh fruit and dried cranberries for sweetness and then topped it with chopped nuts for a salty crunch. This salad is packed full of nutritious power foods like berries, kale and nuts, thus earning its name. The tastes and textures work really well together and you can top it with your favorite vinaigrette dressing.

Ingredients:

6 cups kale slaw type salad mix (with kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli- I used Trader Joes Cruciferous Crunch)
6 cups butter lettuce
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pistachios...almonds or walnuts would work well too)
vinaigrette dressing of choice

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl, add dressing, toss and serve.  Chill in the fridge with dressing on the side if not serving immediately.

Makes 14 cups, about 7 servings

Serving size 2 cups (without dressing) Calories 85  Protein 2 g  Carb 16  g  Fiber 3 g Sugars 11 g Fat 2 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium  27 mg