Mixed Veggie Salad

I'm a salad fanatic. But it can't just be greens and dressing. I'm not into boring, monotonous salads. They have to be colorful and full of ingredients and flavor. I think a good salad should have a balance of flavors, not just the savory aspect. Sweet, salty, sour, rich, bitter. Texture is a key element as well; its important to have a soft avocado complement crunchy seeds. It's a bit more time consuming than just throwing a bag of greens in a bowl and covering them in bottled dressing, but I try to incorporate all of these ideas into salad because it's definitely worth it. 

Ingredients:

(makes as much as you'd like, adjust amounts to your preference) 

• Kale, dino or curly
• Shredded carrots
• Shredded zucchini 
• Avocado
• Watermelon radish, or any radish of your choice
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Button mushrooms
• Satsuma tangerines or clementines
• Diced celery
• Shredded golden beets 
• Shredded red cabbage
• Pumpkin seeds

   

  Dressing: *

• Lemon or Lime
• Cashews
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Chili paste
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Agave Syrup 
• Garlic
• Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Directions

• Place the kale and cabbage into a big mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and begin to squish the kale in your hands, while simultaneously coating all of the leaves with the oil/salt. Squeeze the greens until they look wilted--this process helps the leaves be a little more palatable and softer to eat. 
• Add the remaining sliced and shredded ingredients and toss together. 
• In a blender (preferably a vita-mix so it can really pulverize the ingredients) mix the dressing ingredients (including more oil) and adjust the ratios to taste. 
• Pour enough dressing on the veggies to coat and enjoy!

*If you're in a time crunch, or in the mood for a lighter dressing, I'm also a fan of a simple vinaigrette, which consists of: Extra virgin olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar (or any other acid), honey, salt and pepper, and dijon mustard.

Note:  What I love most about this salad is its versatility. I'm all about eating with the seasons and this is the perfect example of a meal that adapts to whatever time of the year it is. A combination of root veggies and dried fruit make a delicious, hearty salad in the winter, while more fruits, squash, and tomatoes would make a refreshing summer dish.