Kale Salad Y'all!

Listen. Things are about to get real serious.

I went to the doctor the other day because my body has decided to go on strike. It hates me. Based on the symptoms I described, the doctor dumped the possibility of having Celiac's on me - amongst a laundry list of other ailments.

What.

I know.

I'm going to get some tests done on Tuesday (yippeee...).

Faced with this wonderful maybe-news, I headed off to the store to think about what I was going to make for dinner and I pretended that my life had been smashed into tiny pieces and I could no longer eat gluten. (Don't mind my drama, I'm still reeling from the possibility of a pumpkin-doughnut-less life.)

LET'S DO THIS.

I made an imam bayildi (luckily my favorite Turkish dish would still be safe), roasted a pan a veggies, and decided to try my hand at a salad made out of kale - a first for me.

My thought was that most of the blending I do with kale usually leaves a few chunks of it, which annoy me to no end and I always think I'm chewing more than drinking, so why not just eat it like it was intended?

Boom. Kale salad. So delicious.

But whatever happens with the whole gluten thing, I'll be keeping this secret formula with me:
kale + a fruit + a cheese + a grain + a nut + a lemon.

I used an apple + provolone + quinoa + almonds combination, but I'm excited to try others too. I think next for me is a sweet potato + goat cheese + pumpkin seeds combo. Holla at some Fall flavors y'all!

The only thing you need to remember about a fresh kale salad is in the preparation of the kale. Make sure to remove the stalk, cut it thinly and massage it with some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and let it sit for a few minutes before you dress it (this will help rid the kale of that waxy coating). Most people say Tuscan kale works better for fresh salads, but I honestly have no complaints with using the regular kale. (And ain't nobody got time to go find Tuscan kale!)

To make the vinaigrette, I took the juice of a lemon, whisked it with about 1/4 cup of olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

And yet another bonus about this: the salad keeps! The lemon keeps the apples from oxidizing and the kale is so fibrous that it won't wilt or get soggy! Seriously. The greatest thing ever for those of you who get especially pumped about having meals prepped and ready to go for the week (HELL YEAH. Lame grown ups unite!).