kale slaw with peanut dressing

kale isn't just for smoothies or sauteing. this salad is raw, vegan, beautiful and divine.

ingredients:

4 cups chopped kale (i used a combination of green and purple)

1 cup cabbage (any variety will do)

4 green onions, whites and greens, chopped

1 carrot, shredded (or a handful of julienne carrots)

lots of fresh chopped cilantro

1 navel orange, peeled, sectioned and chopped into bite sized pieces

a handful of dried cranberries 

a hearty handful of sesame seed and slivered almonds

peanut dressing, store bought or homemade. (as always, read your ingredients if you choose store bought).

how to:

a couple of hours before serving, mix all ingredients except almonds and sesame seeds, including dressing.  immediately before serving add nuts and seed and toss well.

susan's creamy (unless you make my mistake) kale smoothie

i've been drinking green smoothies for a long time now.  my palate has changed so much, that i can tolerate just about anything as long as i know it's good for me.  so, i've quit using recipes and usually just throw things in the blender.  the results can be iffy sometimes and i'd like to start actually enjoying the flavor of my smoothies, so i was glad when my friend, susan, posted this little dandy on facebook this morning.

yep...it's green.  

ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (more if needed)

4 pitted medjool dates

2 cups raw kale, ribs removed

how to:

put all ingredients into blender and blend away until nice and creamy.  

a couple of notes:

make sure your dates are pitted.....oops, my bad!

in most grocery stores, you can buy kale that has already been chopped and the bitter ribs removed.  i take shortcuts wherever i can...i'm kinda like the sandra lee of vegetables.

*update*

susan informed me that this recipe came from the Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook.   gotta give credit where it's due, but i still credit susan with bringing it to my attention this morning.