Let’s put this all out on the table: I’m awful about eating fruits and vegetables when I’m on vacation. Quite frankly, I would rather sample the best foods from local restaurants, which usually means chicken and waffles, pizzas, donuts, or cake pops. I never miss out on an opportunity to indulge. But when I get home from my vacation, I immediately hit the reset button and stuff my face with all the vegetables under the sun. Speaking of vacation, I had such a wonderful time at Blog Brûlée! Besides meeting bloggers that I’ve been following for a while, I got to experience the beauty that is Vermont. I couldn’t get over how lush and green the hills look! I’m ready to book another trip out there already. Whitney, Selena, and I decided to go on a hike last Friday, and this was our view: Actually, the backstory about this hike was that it was much more treacherous that we anticipated. I asked the front desk for suggestions on easy to moderate hiking trails. Little did we know, we were in for a nice steep treat. I was sweating like crazy 15 minutes into the hike. After a long weekend of travels, it was time to nourish my body with a good salad. I made the salad with ingredients I could find around the house, but feel free to add your favorite fruits and vegetables to the mix!
MASTERING MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
Massage the kale: Until I read this post from Cookie + Kate, I didn’t bother to massage the kale, but this simple step makes a HUGE difference to the texture. 30 seconds is all it takes for better kale salads!Remove the stems: Nothing bothers me more than eating kale with the stems still in tact. The texture of the stems are very tough and don’t add much to the overall flavor of the salad.Press the tofu: Don’t skip this step! Wrapping the tofu with paper towels and pressing it helps release extra moisture, which means crispier tofu when you fry it.
LIKE THE KALE SALAD? TRY THESE RECIPES:
NOTE: The link to the microplane grater is an affiliate link. It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools!
