Kale Yeah!

Are you a fan of kale yet? Or are you still hearing the rumors of this super food but not sure how it fits into your diet?

I started working to sneak kale into our meals a few years back and now my husband doesn’t even shudder when he finds it on his plate. And yes, sneak is the appropriate verb there. This Kale Caesar salad is one of our favorite ways to enjoy it and features a great mix of ingredients that make this one of the healthiest Caesar salads you will ever eat. If you’re like me and love Caesar salad, this recipe is a MUST, full of easy and healthy swaps that completely make over this classic into something you can enjoy and know you’re actually putting some good things into your body.

 

 

I’ve always loved Caesar salad. The creamy garlicky dressing, crispy croutons, all the PARM. And a salad with no tomatoes? Perfect.

But let’s be real, I never really ordered a Caesar salad and felt like “solid healthy option, doing my body good”. It always was pretty clear that while it was called a salad and featured greens, there was really nothing to it that was filling me up with anything close to good.

In my journey to a happier healthier me, I’ve focused a lot more on having meals that provide my body with good things and don’t just fill me up. I do my best to make sure if I’m eating something, it’s healthy and has a good mix of different ingredients have good nutritional value. Don’t get me wrong, not every meal is perfect and I COMPLETELY believe in balance for a healthy and happy life (which for me includes pastas and pizza). Now though, I definitely look at food a little differently and try to make nutritionally low value meals the exception and make-over some of my favorites to make them the best versions they can be.

 

 

So what are the healthy swaps that make this Caesar Salad 2.0?

DIFFERENT GREENS

While the typical base of Caesar Salad features romaine, which still has good nutritional value, kale brings some additional healthy benefits to the table including: iron, vitamin K, antioxidants, vitamin A and is a great anti-inflammatory and yields cardiovascular support. Easy swap, great benefits

CRISPY ROASTED CHICK PEAS AS CROUTONS

I love croutons. Their crunch, the extra garlic flavor. They are NECESSARY for Caesar salad. But lets be honest, these crunchy oily bread blocks aren’t the best thing for you. Swap them out with some crispy roasted chick peas (recipe in an older blog post here) and you’ve got another brilliant swap that wont even make you miss them.

HOMEMADE DRESSING

I rarely buy salad dressings these days and instead make my own. First off, its EASY. Second, if I make it, then I know what’s actually going into it and can avoid preservatives and other ingredients that are pretty unnecessary but usually in them. Try making your own and it will be 1) cheap 2) easy 3) healthy which sounds like a win to me.

I have no swaps for the parm because I like to live my life and enjoy things that make me happy and parmesan cheese is high on my list for happiness 🙂 So just do it. And rest assured that you are packing so much other goodness into this salad that a little parm will do the body good.

 

 

We topped our salads with grilled chicken and put it along with our leftover Roasted Tomato Basil Soup to change things up in the week. YUM.

I’m officially craving this salad now.

 

KALE CAESAR SALAD WITH ROASTED CHICK PEAS

INGREDIENTS

• Kale
• Roasted Chick Peas (recipe here)
• Parmesan
• Salt
• Pepper
• Caesar Dressing (ingredients below)

For the Caesar Dressing

• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Dash of cream
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

 

INSTRUCTIONS

DRESSING

1. Put all ingredients into nutri-bullet or blender and blend until mixed well (Yep, that’s it)

SALAD

1. Wash your greens and put into your salad bowl
2. Toss with desired amount of dressing
3. COVER IN PARMESAN and toss again (just kidding, kinda)
4. Top with crispy roasted chick peas

 

Cannot wait to make this easy healthy version of a favorite again!

 

XO,

JESS