Some days, I just need healthy veggies until I can’t chew any more.
Today – sandwiched between last week (a busy week at work where I wasn’t able to bring lunch), and this coming week (with a trip to Omaha for several days of wedding festivities for a friend) – was one of those days.
So I got out my food processor’s shredding disc, shredded an enormous pile of healthy things, mixed them up to make a salad base, and topped it with a light, sweet, and tangy dressing to tie it all together (and help keep my interest for all the chewing).
One of the hard parts about making a salad, for me, is deciding what should go in it; another challenge is keeping fresh ingredients available and prepped. Definitely the prepped part. Unless you’re my mom, it’s never a good time to chop a bunch of vegetables (she is very good at that).
I took inspiration from Cava Grill’s supergreens on this salad base. It is shredded cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli stems; and lacinato (dinosaur) kale chopped as finely as I could get it (before getting bored).
The cabbage made me think of a slaw, so I went for a slaw-type dressing. No mayo though; a heavy dressing would negate this salad’s supersonic healthiness. Just apple cider vinegar, zested garlic, celery seed, freshly ground pepper, and a bit of sugar. {Note, it looks like a lot of sugar when you see it in the recipe, but the dressing goes a long way!}
Apple cider vinegar is one of my faves. If you haven’t used it, it’s worth picking up a bottle and getting familiar with it; if you have, you get me on this. Celery seed is another one you may not be familiar with. It comes in a jar in the dried herb section.
You have the option of whisking in some 2% Greek yogurt for an added health boost and a little thickness to the dressing.
The Greek yogurt will make it look just a bit creamier:
- For the salad:
- .5 head red cabbage
- .5 lb brussels sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
- 1 large broccoli stem, cleaned and trimmed
- 1 bunch lacinato kale
- For the dressing (this will make extra):
- 1 c apple cider vinegar
- .5 c sugar
- .25 - .5 c 2% plain Greek yogurt (optional)
- 2 large garlic cloves, zested
- 1 t celery seed
- lots of freshly ground pepper
- Have a large mixing bowl on hand to catch all of your shredded veggies.
- Shred the cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli stem using the shredding disc on a food processor.
- Slice the kale very thin, and then chop it several times.
- Toss the veggies together to evenly distribute.
- To make the dressing, whisk together the ingredients.
- Add the dressing to the salad, stirring with a spoon or fork to distribute. This is not a salad where you would want the dressing "on the side" - way too crunchy!
- You can eat it right away, or let it sit for a day (or two).
This recipe might make more dressing than you need.
Tell me what you think!