I’m super into kale at the moment. After my daily morning green juice (which has kale mind you) I’ve been into having kale salads for lunch.
Yup, it’s the new year. And I’m being healthy. I’ve got a wedding dress fitting in less than 8 days and I’ve got to be in peak physical condition!
By the way, have you ever been wedding dress shopping? Omg is it stressful. When I first went, I didn’t have the slightest clue what I was looking for. Nope, not one bit. In fact, it’s a good thing I brought my uber stylist flower girl with me, because she is an avid “say yes to the dress” watcher and pretty much narrowed down my choices for me. But now it’s time for the real shopping. My moms coming into town and it’s time to get down to business. We’ve got dresses to pick, shoes to match, and accessories to shop for. So I’m eating kale non stop for the next week so I can feel super healthy while I’m shopping. And because, have you ever tried shopping after you had a giant burrito with cheese and guacamole? It’s not pretty, I’ll tell ya that.
This Kale Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Cannellini beans is kinda amazing. The kale, which is clearly loaded with things that are really good for you, has a nice texture that compliments the cannelini beans. Throw on some freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese and a citrus vinaigrette and you’ve got yourself one fine looking salad.
You could throw in some avocado here too, or perhaps a handful of nuts to give things even more of a crunch, but one thing is certain, you’re going to feel super good about yourself after eating this! It’s light, refreshing and filling. Gives me all the energy I need to get on with my day!
Raw Kale Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Cannellini beans
Ingredients
- 1 bunch curly kale washed, dried and thinly chopped
- 1 cup cooked cannelini beans
- 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the chopped kale, cannelini beans and parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil until thick, about 45 seconds.
- Drizzle some of the dressing over the kale. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed or add more dressing if desired. Serve and enjoy!
mmmmmmm! i love the addition of cannelini beans…this looks SO good!
OMG. I have never wanted kale so badly in my LIFE!
Good luck shopping!!! 🙂
I. LOVE. KALE. Well, and lemon and parmesan and beans too. SL:FJS:LDFJ! Love it.
This looks great! I feel your pain, I had to try my dress on for family and friends the Tuesday after Christmas and let’s just say I wasn’t eating Kale the week leading up to it 🙂
You are actually making a kale salad sound appealing Gaby!
love this and so healthy wow congrats on your up and coming wedding
Wedding dress shopping makes it all seem real! Except thats how I felt…”oh yeah, I really AM getting married!” PS- kale and I are bff’s.
I admire your kale dedication! Having just gone through the wedding dress fitting process last year, I understand where you’re coming from! Glad to see you’re making healthy food so delicious 🙂
Mmm! That looks delicious. Lemon and kale go so well together. One thing I do differently with raw kale salad: I always rub my kale with salt and let it sit for 20 minutes before using (then rinse and proceed) — a trick I picked up from my cousin, who is a farmer. It really softens it nicely.
Great tip, Sarah! I am going to try this now. 🙂
this looks super yummy and exactly the kind of thing this ‘healthy grits’ would love to have for lunch as well.
love the new look btw!
Looks great Gaby! A piece of advice – unless you want to be eating kale from now until wedding day, be sure to find something that fits and not something you hope to fit into. 🙂 You are gorgeous, any wedding dress will look amazing on you. Your smile will light up the whole day!
I have just added kale to my ‘seeds to order; list for the garden this spring. This salad looks really tasty and the photo is so much fun. Love the bowls!
Wedding dress shopping is SO STRESSFUL! But when you find “the one” you totally know it 🙂
This salad is going to be GREAT for my post-wedding dress shopping, pre-wedding diet!!!
Best advice for wedding dress shopping…HAVE FUN! This is your moment…enjoy it, twirl, linger at the mirror, listen to your heart, laugh and twirl again.
This salad looks da BOMB! You are doing great with the new year’s resolution and healthy eating stuff–I am very impressed and wish I had your resolve! BTW, i love hearing updates on your wedding planning! What an exciting, sweet time. I also can’t wait to hear what you guys are eating at your wedding!! It ought to be awesome 🙂
I have just hopped aboard the kale train and am in need of recipes to try, so this is perfect!
I’m in love with Kale – and in particular organic baby kale in salads…
So simple & perfectly fabulous! Love kale 🙂
Have a great time dress shopping with you mom! I eat salads nearly everyday and I love the way I feel.
What a vibrant and healthy looking recipe (not to mention tasty!) I’m always on the lookout for new ways of preparing kale which I adore. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year 🙂
YUM! Do you know how long this would keep in the fridge?
I LOOOOOVE kale. I can’t believe you’re getting married in just a few days! Yay!
I’m thinking maybe subbing clementine zest and juice and even throwing on a few fresh slices with almonds or pecans or cashews…
Beautiful salad! Congrats and happy dress shopping!
I was sooo excited to make this – it’s been on my meal plan for weeks just taunting me. Sadly, I didn’t really like the raw kale part…I love kale, I guess just not raw (who knew!). The picture makes it look so tasty though that I wonder if I just look at the picture if I wouldn’t mind the bitterness of the kale:) I have about 3,795,479,847 more recipes of yours to try (because everything just looks so darn tasty!) so I’m moving on to the next one.
I had some kale left over from the last farmer’s market a few weeks ago that I had already massaged and torn up and put in a Rubbermaid container, planning to broil them for kale chips-saw your recipe and decided to try it instead-I’m so glad I did. I didn’t have any Dijon, so I used a bit of avocado ranch dressing that was about to expire. I applied that directly to the salad and whisked the oil, lemon, salt and pepper together and then threw an avocado in it before dumping it all on the kale/beans/cheese-then shaking it up. It was fantastic and I hope the leftovers are better tomorrow!