Kale + Quinoa Superfood Salad

Jamaica is 5 weeks away... and that number on the scale is not going down. Probably because I'm not doing anything overly zealous to make it happen. That's all about to change. I'm hunkering down and making a real commitment to healthy living: eating clean, no drinking {eek} and actually working out {eek even more}

We made a plan for the week, breakfast, lunch and dinner along with snacks. And this little guy is going to be filling up our bellies at lunchtime, and I'm pretty excited about that. I came across this recipe a while ago.. no idea where I found it, probably on fitsugar.com or in one of the emails I get from them. I've been holding onto it, waiting for the right time, and to tell you the truth, it really does feel like the right time! I haven't tried the whole combo together yet, but that dressing...oooh baby. I pretty much wanted to drink it. 

So without further ado...

Kale + Quinoa Superfood Salad

ingredients:

For the salad

   1 cup quinoa

   1 bunch kale, washed and chopped

   1 medium carrot, grated

   1/2 cup slivered almonds

   1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered

   1 cup blueberries, washed

   Nori, sliced thinly

For the dressing

   1/4 cup EVOO

   1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

   1 Tbl low-sodium soy sauce

   1 clove garlic, chopped

   1 Tbl honey or brown sugar

   1 Tbl peeled and minced ginger

   1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

   1 Tbl water

instructions:

1. Prepare quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a mason jar. Shake and set aside. {can be blended together if desired}
3. Combine 1 Tbl of dressing with sliced kale in a large bowl and toss to coat. 
4. When quinoa is cool, add to kale, along with remaining ingredients except nori. Add more dressing if desired. Top with sliced nori and serve. 

notes:

• Recipe as above makes appx 3 servings of salad with 10 Tbl dressing. 
• Salad {one third of recipe} 377 calories, 9.6g fat, 60.4g carb, 8.5g fiber, 14g protein {10 PPV+}
• Dressing {per tablespoon} 57 calories, 5.5g fat, 2.4g carb, 0 fiber, 0.1g protein {2 PPV+}
• I doubled the recipe and divi-ed up into 10 mason jars for me and tt's lunches for this week. I layered kale, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, almonds and then quinoa. Kept the nori and dressing separate to avoid sogginess.