We’re celebrating spring with this spring Kale Panzanella Salad. Sprucing up your everyday salad can be a great way to make eating greens more appealing. And, while the diet culture might not care about emotional food satisfaction, we do.
Kale Panzanella Salad: Nutrition with Emotional Satisfaction
Dieting is often associated with “removing” foods from our diet, but lets change that mindset and “add-in” something healthy. Coloring your plate with a bit of green at every meal ensures not only a plate-full of nutritious additions, but it also supports our microbiome or gut health as well. A diet rich in a variety of plant-based foods is the foundation of healthy living. To give your body a true diversity of beneficial bacteria, pay attention to getting as broad a variety of plant-based foods as you can. This is often called “eating the rainbow,” of colorful fruits and vegetables—and it’s great for your gut health.
Here are a few ways to “Green” Up Your Everyday Eats!
Snacks: Substitute Kale Chips for potato chips; dip raw sugar snap peas into hummus
Lunch: Toss sliced cucumbers in a 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. of honey for a simple salad side dish. Try our Greek Chickpea Salad as a side (it’s a fan favorite!)
Dinner: Add finely chopped kale or Swiss chard to tomato sauce; vary up your typical dinner salad with a spinach salad.
While these small changes won’t result in rapid weight loss, I guarantee, you won’t feel deprived. Sustainable steps = long term success.
Try our other satisfying and simple salad recipes!
Spring Kale Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch chopped kale
- 1/2 c. cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 c. sourdough bread, cubed and toasted
- 1/2 c. peas (we used frozen)
- 1/2 c. walnuts, roughly chopped
Tahini Dressing
- ¼ c. tahini paste
- ¼ c. plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 T. honey
- 1/4 c. lemon juice, fresh
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼–1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Using a blender or immersion blend, blend all dressing ingredients minus the water.
- Check consistency and gradually add water to achieve a “pourable” dressing.
- Place the kale in a large bowl, pour in a bit of the dressing (to your preference) with a bit of salt. Using your hands, massage the kale with the dressing so that the coarse kale leaves become a bit tender.
- Toss white beans, peas, croutons and walnuts and let marinate together for 15-30 minutes.
- Prior to serving, toss with a bit more of your dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- It’s best if you let it sit at room temp for 20 (or more) minutes.