Kale, Green Apple, and Feta Salad

Let's talk about a salad today. I want to talk about salad because I feel like I have been throwing lots of carbs and cheese and overall gut-busting (BUT DELICIOUS) food your way. Really, I just need some company to help me enjoy the pizzas, and breads, and cookies in my life. Thanks for being there when I need you the most.

Lunch this week has actually been quite delicious, which is surprising because lunch has been this Kale, Green Apple, and Feta Salad. And usually anything that is based in "kale" is already pretty low on my list of delicious. Sorry, kale...

The flavors in this salad are fresh and light. The tangy feta and sweet green apples love each other big time. Kale and toasted walnuts add body to this salad, keeping you full straight until dinner. Fresh cucumber and thinly sliced red onions bring the whole thing together.

I particularly love this salad as a lunch option because as all the flavors marry so beautifully in the refrigerator overnight. And since we are using kale, it stands up to the dressing without getting soggy. The dressing, on that note, is a simple cider vinaigrette. The apple cider vinegar keeps the apples from getting brown and sad-looking..extra win!

The composition of this salad is quite simple. I start by mixing together a touch of brown sugar, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. A big batch of kale is tossed in the dressing and set aside to soften slightly.

In the meantime, walnuts get toasted in the oven until they are fragrant and enticing.

Vegetables are sliced thin.

Everything along with feta cheese gets tossed together with the kale. And that's all there is to it.

Elegant and simple and tasty. Plus, this salad is packed with all sorts of good-for-you elements. If you are tired of boring sandwiches at lunch or need a filling dinner in a hurry, this salad is for you! Recipe below will serve 2 big dinner portions or 4 small lunch portions.


Here's what you need for Kale, Green Apple, and Feta Salad (Print Recipe!)

4 cups chopped kale
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (350 degree oven for about 5 minutes...watch they don't burn!!)
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1 small green apple, sliced thin
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup feta cheese

Here's what you do

Place the kale in a large mixing bowl. In a glass liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. Pour over the kale and toss to coat. There should not be a lot of liquid at the bottom. This is just for the essence of flavor and to temper the roughness of the kale.

Set kale aside for 10 minutes.

Add the walnuts, cucumber, green apples and red onion to the kale mixture. Toss to coat in the vinegar. Stir in feta cheese crumbles. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving, or refrigerate overnight and enjoy for lunch the next day.