A Kale Salad Bursting with Antioxidants

by Noor H. Salem

Last week I discussed remarkable benefits of broccoli, the overlooked and underappreciated vegetable. Broccoli is delicious, and extremely healthy for many organs of your body if you skip drenching it in the ranch or cheese dressing. Since many don’t enjoy eating broccoli by itself, I’ve incorporated broccoli slaw into my usual kale salad, with a few tweaks to make it unique and tasty.

This salad is bursting with superfoods, from the power greens to the anti-inflammatory spices used. The dressing is mainly consistent of extra virgin olive oil, an incredible and extremely healthy food item. In fact, it’s one of the few oils I use, and makes it on the list of the superfoods I cover in my book, “Sunnah Superfoods.” Olive oil is beneficial for your health, cognitive health, digestion, skin, hair, and nails. Unfortunately, not everyone purchases pure olive oil (without even knowing it), nor do they cook and consume it properly. These tips and very important details are covered in my book, along with dozens of recipes for you and your family to try. The broccoli slaw in the salad gives the perfect crunch and pairing with the finely chopped and soft kale-cilantro base. You could almost consider this salad a tabouli, without the gluten.

This salad is bursting in Vitamin K, Vitamin C, fiber, healthy and satisfying fats, antioxidants, calcium, anti-inflammatory properties, and much more. You can make this as the side to your dinner, or enjoy it all by itself. This recipe is a delicious way of consuming broccoli stems; the part majority nonchalantly toss into the trash. I enjoy adding minced red onions at times for a flavor change.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh kale
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 2 cups broccoli slaw (thinly sliced mix of broccoli stem and carrots)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, freshly juiced
• 1 lime, freshly juiced
• 1 teaspoon organic raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sumac
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1/3 teaspoon ginger, ground
• ½ teaspoon red pepper, ground
• 1 ½ teaspoon granulated onion
• ½ teaspoon mustard seed, ground
• 2 teaspoons dried mint, crushed

Directions:

1. Wash the kale and cilantro well; place in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
2. Add the broccoli slaw. Toss.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl and drizzle over the greens. Mix well.
4. Refrigerate it for an hour or two before serving for optimum taste. Works wonderfully with salmon, grilled meat, or all alone.

Noor H. Salem is an author, speaker, and Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, from Michigan. Noor works with clients in better understanding their bodies and healing with natural foods through her wellness practice, Holistic Noortrition. She presents various workshops, school lectures, group coaching classes, and community lectures on the topic of holistic health. Noor recently published her book, “Sunnah Superfoods,” a culmination of life-changing recipes and remedies, with a foreword by Dr. Waleed Basyouni. Her book consists of prophetic hadith, modern research, and delicious recipes, and is in the process of being translated into other languages.