Kale Salad with Cranberries and Pecans

I’m going to be honest here:  I don’t even know who I am anymore.  I mean, a kale salad?  When did I get so…so…healthy?

Here’s where I sit back and defend myself though…when you read a blog as lovingly and hilariously written as Peas and Thank You and you’ve met and love the daylights out of the author, then it makes you willing to take some risks.  BIGTIMERISKS like making a kale salad and then enjoying it.

 

I mean, I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I’m feeling pretty proud of myself what with all the green in my diet lately.  And the dude?  Well, here’s where I have two schools of thought:

1. He loves green things and has always kicked around when I’ve devoured spinach (a favorite of mine) and brussels sprouts (omg I love them too).  So maybe eating green things is the best way to keep him inside of me forever and ever amen.
2. If he’s anything like his daddy he’ll very politely snub his nose at the thought of kale salad, wish that I’d had spinach instead, and decide that mom really doesn’t know what she’s eating and come out to have milk instead.

And at this point?  I’m kind of pulling for scenario number 2…but only because what he doesn’t know is that milk will be laden with kale salad goodness too.

 

Shhhhhhhhhh…just don’t tell him.

Anyway, after getting a big bunch of leafy delicious kale in my Door to Door Organics box this past weekend I nixed the soup idea and took a chance on a big fat salad, one that has yet to disappoint and that I’ve been eating on for a couple days now.  And you?  You should make this – with my additions or like the original – and you should make it fast.

 

See, all I did was make it exactly like the recipe states except for I had no apples at the time and no pistachios, so we went with dried cranberries and toasted pecans.  Have I mentioned lately that I’m obsessed with dried cranberries?  Sure, we’re teetering on the edge of spring here and cranberry season has long passed, but the dried variety kind of light my fire any time of year.  They add a great tart sweetness to the salad and the nuttiness of the pecans is perfect in there too.

 

But regardless, you need to make this.  Now.  Because life’s too short to not have cupcakes for breakfast one day and kale salad the next.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to bury my face in more kale…and hope that it makes me go into labor.  Because that’s normal these days!