It’s pretty cliche to post a healthy recipe on New Year’s Day but after the past few weeks of indulging, I think we could all use a salad, don’t you?  If anything, it will make us all feel a little better about finishing off those sugar cookies if we eat a salad first.

Last weekend I was up at my in-laws cabin for the biennial St Olaf Reunion.  Side note to reunion crew: biennial is the term we were trying to think of meaning every two years.  Thank goodness for google.  Anyways, once again each couple took responsibility for one meal of the weekend.  The first night’s dinner was made by Bryan and Suzi, and was out of this world.  They slaved over the stove making Leek and Pancetta Risotto (topped with a fried egg!!) served with a kale salad.  Both dishes were amazing, but I could not get enough of the kale salad.

So what was the first thing I made once I got home?  Kale salad, duh.  I added cranberries like Suzi did, but also amped it up with some red onion, avocado, chopped pecans, and apples.  There were so many textures and flavors!  This salad filled me up for dinner but would definitely work well as a side dish too.  Thanks, Suzi, for the inspiration!

Beet and Kale Wheatberry Salad

Winter Citrus Kale Salad

Kale and Chickpea Quinoa Salad