Kale Waldorf Salad--A Little Healthy Sweet & Tangy Crunch

Have I ever mentioned that I do a monthly healthy cooking talk/tour/cooking demo at my local Whole Foods? It's always fun and I meet a lot of great people of all ages who are trying to find easy, healthy foods and recipes that taste good. I usually demo my own recipes or use some of the company's recipes from their website--always a good source of healthy, tasty ones.

This week, one of the recipes I made was their Kale Waldorf Salad. It got a lot of positive feedback even from the many kids who tried it. I had a taster cup at the store but then I couldn't stop thinking about it and the crunchy texture and creamy dressing so I had to make my own batch at home.

Whole Foods says, "This variation on the classic Waldorf salad uses kale instead of lettuce and adds apple and walnuts to the dressing for a creamy consistency without using the typical mayonnaise base."

Kale Waldorf Salad

Courtesy of Whole Foods Market

(Serves 6)

4 cups packed finely chopped raw kale, preferably dinosaur kale
1 large red apple, such as Fuji or Honeycrisp (I used my favorite Honeycrisp)
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raisins, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water, more if needed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Place kale in a large bowl. Chop half the apple and add to kale along with celery, 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup raisins. Chop remaining half of apple and put in a blender along with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, remaining 2 tablespoons raisins, mustard, water, vinegar and salt. Purée until well combined and slightly thick, adding water if needed to thin. Pour dressing over kale salad and toss to combine.

Nutrition Per serving (about 5oz/131g-wt.): 140 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 135mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 10g sugar), 3g protein


Notes/Results: Wonderfully crisp and a balanced combination of sweet and tangy. I have never been a big fan of most mayonnaise-based salads like the Waldorf, but this version is really good. The dressing takes on a very creamy consistency and has great flavor from the red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard. It is a satisfying salad and a great way to get some uber-healthy kale and healthy fats and omega-3s from the walnuts into your diet. (It's vegan too.) I also think it would be great to replace the raisins with dried cranberries or even use some toasted pecans in it--of course then it isn't a Waldorf salad anymore. ;-) Good as a side for lunch or dinner, I will make this again.

Happy Aloha Friday!