I'll admit, it's hard to get my kids to eat salad. Even just a regular old romaine salad, never mind a kale salad. But I keep trying! One day I made this salad, which is a variation of a salad from "Isa Does It," a fantastic cookbook. Instead of using the roast butternut squash and lentils, I added sliced apples to the recipes' raw kale and dressing. My daughter declared it her "favorite salad ever." In fact, the first time I served it, she had three servings. I'm loving pairing fruit and vegetables, just like in this salad. I think the familiarity (and sweetness) of the fruit makes it more appealing to my kids -- and I just think it's really really tasty. 

 

Kale Apple Salad

 

Ingredients

1 head of  curly kale 

2 apples, sliced and halved (I've also used pears, which was tasty)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Dash of garlic powder

Dash of salt

 

Take a large bowl and whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, ginger, garlic powder and salt. Clean the kale and break off the leaves and tear them into small pieces. (This is a fun activity for young kids). Put the leaves in the bowl and gently massage the kale into the dressing for a good minute. (This is key; it really softens the kale and makes it very flavorful). Add the sliced apple. Toss together and serve!

 

This recipe is adapted from "Isa Does It," one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.