Living in Jackson Hole, we have limited amounts of fresh vegetables available in the winter. Unless you canned all fall, chances are you are eating a lot of carbohydrates and meat, supplementing with half the amount of vegetables you eat in the summer.
It is still important to nourish our bodies with green foods in the winter. I know there is nothing less appetizing than a salad in the dead of winter, especially when it is -20 F outside. I have found that eating kale is a happy medium between the cold salad and the slightly boring, but hot, root vegetable.
I have a friend who was once a raw eater and told me how difficult it was to sustain physically during the winter months. She felt undernourished and was constantly freezing. I believe that California is a great place to be a raw foodie exclusively year-round, but not here; however, raw food holds great nutritional value. Fresh juices and recipes such as this one should be consumed regularly for optimum health. I try to juice four times a week and eat a salad, such as this, three times a week.
For lunches and dinner, I have a slight addiction: raw kale salad. There are virtually thousands of combinations for this dish. Choose your favorite toppings and go for it! Here is the most recent version I made. After one bite, my husband asked, “Can we have this, like, everyday?”
Kale continues to top charts for healthiest foods you should be eating now. Its various health benefits include:
- Low calorie
- High fiber
- High vitamins K, A, C, magesium
- High in caretenoids/flavonoids=Anti-cancer/Eye Health
- Lowers cholesterol
A kale salad will keep you healthy during the winter months.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch finely chopped kale, stems removed (lucinato is easiest to work with)
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 large shallot, finely sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese *optional
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup dark balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Mix kale, pistachios and raisins in a bowl with oil and vinegar.
- Saute shallot in olive oil until extra crispy.
- Add to mixture and toss well.
- Leave out at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Eat when leaves have wilted to your desired consistency.
- If you like a grain, you may add to pasta or quinoa.
- You can leave this salad in the fridge overnight and it will only get better with time!
- This is a great potluck dish year-round.
- Makes: 2 servings (main), 4 (side)
