Quick 'Massaged' Kale Salad ♥

Today's vegetable recipe: An easy 'concept' salad, starting with ribbons of fresh kale rubbed with olive oil, ending with what's on hand. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

Truth is, not so many vegetable recipes knock me over anymore. But this one sure did. After gobbling up this plateful, I was glad to find that the greens bag from the friDge still had plenty of kale and broccoli rabe left over for another couple of salads.

The technique is dead easy. Just slice fresh greens into ribbons, then use your hands to massage the tiniest bit of olive oil into the leaves, softening them. (Many thanks to cookbook author and fellow blogger Nava Atlas for the technique tip!) I added half a blood orange and half a 300-minute egg (interesting in technique and color but otherwise unremarkable) -- a perfect light but filling lunch for a it's-still-January dieter.

UPDATE On Day Two of this great little salad, I tried (1) the greens from raw broccoli rabe and its broccoli-like tips (very good!) and (2) tossing the greens and olive oil (nope, the 'massage' is key both to distributing the very tiny amount of oil throughout all the greens, also to softening the greens just a bit).

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VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more kale recipes ~
~ more quick vegetable recipes ~

~ more zero-point Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

~ one year ago this week, Mashed Turnip & Apple ~
~ two years ago today, Watercress Sandwiches with Chili Lime Butter ~

QUICK 'MASSAGED' KALE SALAD

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 1 - as many as needed

Per Serving
A handful of fresh red kale, stems sliced out and discarded/composted, leaves rolled into cigars and then sliced cross-wise into ribbons (Day Two: broccoli rabe, just the leaves and the tender broccoli-like tips)
1 teaspoon olive oil - use good olive oil
Salt - use good salt
Pepper - I used lemon pepper
Splash of vinegar - good vinegar, if you can

My Additions Day One:
1/2 a blood orange, skin sliced off, halved vertically then sliced cross-wise into half moons
1/2 a hard-boiled egg, sliced

My Additions Day Two:
1/2 a blood orange (the texture/taste contrast is quite wonderful, a plain orange would offer the same benefit)
Chopped cashews
Blue cheese crumbles
Slices of sun-dried tomato
Play around - this is a great salad!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Base salad, Per Serving: 69 Cal (58% from Fat, 10% from Protein, 32% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 3 g Mono Fat; 6 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; NetCarb5; 0 g Sugar; 77 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 319 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

Base salad plus half an orange, half an egg: Per Serving: 165 Cal (44% from Fat, 16% from Protein, 39% from Carb); 7 g Protein; 9 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 5 g Mono Fat; 17 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; 9 g Sugar; 131 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 361 mg Sodium; 144 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 3 points

KITCHEN NOTES
To my taste, this salad needed a good sprinkling of good salt.
One reason this salad made up so quickly is that the greens had already been washed. It's a Rachael Ray time-shifting tip that I love.

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Eat more vegetables! A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and is the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes, quick, easy, and yes, delicious. Start with the Alphabet of Vegetables or dive into all the Weight Watchers vegetable recipes or all the low carb vegetable recipes. © Copyright 2008