Kale Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, Radicchio, Carrots & Tahini Dressing
Before parenthood, I used to enjoy shopping for dinner based on my cravings any given day. Dinner was the centerpiece of the evening. These days, dinner is one piece in a puzzle of classes, playdates and other appointments. Meal plans these days happen by the week, and in advance. The main challenge is getting enough vegetables in, which requires forethought and good habits.
Between kid lunches and breakfasts, I’ve streamlined our food by eating the same thing for lunch most days. That way I can get the food I need without spending hours in the kitchen each day.
Most of us need more dark leafy greens in our diet, as well as more vegetables in general. One way I’ve found to get more vegetables into my diet while juggling the business of work and family life, is to prep one salad that I eat for lunch the whole week. Each week I do a slight variation, to make sure I’m getting enough variety throughout the course of any given month.
This salad hits a lot of essentials. Firstly, it’s delicious. You’ve got the omega 3’s in kale, the hormone balancing benefit of seeds like sesame, the liver supporting bitterness of radicchio, as well as a good dose of fiber which gets more important as we age.
Eating the rainbow is actually solid advice. Each food color brings different essential nutrients, and this colorful salad checks a lot of boxes.
Salad Ingredients
2 bunches lacinto or dino kale, washed, de-ribbed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 heads romaine, washed and leaves separated
2 heads of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 head radicchio
5 large carrots, washed and grated. Store in a glass container with a paper towel underneath to absorb excess moisture.
Tahini Dressing
1/2 cup Tahini
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 TBL honey
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 cups avocado oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup water
Preparation Instructions
Heat the oven to 425. Place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet. Drizzle with Avocado oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake about 15-20 minutes until cauliflower is caramelized and golden.
Make the dressing: In a blender (or in a large mouth mason jar with a hand blender), combine the dressing ingredients: Tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water, avocado oil, salt and honey. Blend for 1 minute. Taste and adjust with more honey or salt if needed.
For serving, use a big mixing bowl and add all the ingredients, making sure you are leaving enough for the other 4 salads that week: cauliflower, carrots, kale. Chop the radicchio and romaine just before eating and add to the bowl. Toss with the Tahini Dressing.
For more sustenance, I add shredded rotisserie chicken, or chicken or tuna salad from my local health food store. Or some days I have flackers and Miyoko’s cheese with the salad to make it heartier. Mixing up these additions keeps it interesting throughout the week.
