Our family used to live in San Francisco, where our kids attended a school that organized a grade-wide camping trip to the local KOA Kampground every year as a school community-building event. It was very exciting for the city kids, who could run free throughout the campground and buy tons of candy from the front store. The adults were to organize a potluck in the evening with all the foodies bringing their “A” game. The very first year I decided to be “that” parent who showed up with a heaping bowl of kale. Oh my.. I thought I was going to be the tagged “the lame vegetarian jerk” who had the nerve to spoil the dinner with health food. Much to my surprise, it was a hit. Folks were even asking me for the recipe. I riffed off the recipe I found at my favorite New Leaf market called Coastal Kale salad. Theirs has sunflower greens, but mine is close enough to enjoy again and again. Due to popular demand, I showed up to the KOA camping trip with the same kale salad 6 years in a row.

Ingredients

Serves 4 (as a side)

1 large bunch curly kale
1 lemon (juiced)
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
possibilities…thin-sliced red onion, avocado, any sort of protein, seeds!..sunflower, sesame, pumpkin…
1. Wash and de-stem the kale. Pull your fingers down the middle rib of the kale leaf and tear the leaves into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Add lemon juice, olive oil and aminos to the serving bowl.
3. Add the kale to the serving bowl and massage the kale into the liquid with your bare hands. The kale will soften a bit with the liquid coating the leaves. Try it! It’s fun!
4. Go ahead and enjoy as a side,…or add whatever you like to the salad to make it a meal!
5. *In my final photo, I added shredded carrots, avocado, baked tofu, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds.

KOA Kale

Ingredients