Kale, Brussel Sprout, and Broccoli Salad

Today was yet another snow day in the Northeast. The absolute only perk of the weather this winter is when my school district (which shall remain nameless) closes. I love snow days from work for many reasons, but one of the tops (aside form NOT BEING AT WORK), is that I get to cook a fresh lunch. While technically I did still eat a salad (as I do every other day), this salad was warm, and was so delicious, I almost made it again for dinner (which lets be honest, who dreams about the next time they can eat a salad).

I did not work off a recipe so will be estimating amounts here for you. This took no time at all and is actually exciting to the palette. I will definitely keep this in mind for the next time I’m asked to bring a side dish.

After a recent trip to Trader Joe’s (and a renewed love and obsession for the place), I had packaged kale and packaged shaved Brussel sprouts. I used a large pan, which I sprayed with vegetable oil. I used about 2 cups of kale, 1/2 cup of shredded/shaved Brussel sprouts (feel free to use chopped whole Brussel sprouts), and 1/2 cup of broccoli. I threw those into the heated pan and sprayed those with some vegetable oil as well. I then added garlic powder, red pepper flakes , and a few cranks of Himalayan sea salt (again, Trader Joe’s). After the greens started to turn a vibrant green, I added about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I frequently tossed and made sure none of the veggies were burning.

While the veggies were cooking, about 5-7 minutes, I threw on some dried cranberries (about 2 tablespoons). I gave it a few more tosses with the dried cranberries added and tasted the veggies to make sure they still had a bit of crunch, but were no longer raw. I took it off the heat and plated. I threw on some sliced almonds, avocado, and drizzled Trader Joe’s balsamic glaze. 

While I opted against recreating this for dinner, I would have added a protein to make it more substantial. Feel free to add or substitute ingredients to your liking and keep me posted how it turns out.