Thai Peanut Kale Salad

So. We all know that kale is amazing for us, right? I've had my fair share of it and just kinda felt ... like I was eating it for my health, which is awesome, but I didn't love it.

And then I tried this salad.

We've been eating a lot of salads-as-a-meal lately. Greek salad, fruit salad with yogurt dressing, tossed salad, taco salad. It's basically a requirement for summer.

A few weeks ago, a friend brought this salad to a potluck picnic. I brought my favorite Greek salad and took a serving of the Thai Peanut Kale Salad to be polite. I had to go back for seconds, it's so good! I asked Jennifer for the recipe (as did all of the other ladies at the potluck!) so she took a picture of it and uploaded it to Facebook where she tagged us all. I've made it probably four times now and thought I'd save it for personal reference as it's getting harder to dig back in the Facebook archives to find the original!

I'm not sure where Jennifer got the recipe so I can't give credit where credit is due. I've looked online for a similar salad and this one is always better, though Lindsey at Pinch of Yum has a Chopped Thai Salad with a similar sauce. Her recipe is amazing but calls for cabbage as the base. Which is awesome and I've made it several times too, but sometimes you just want kale!

Thai Peanut Kale Salad (serves 4)

Salad:

1 bunch kale, chopped (I use half of the giant tub of baby kale and arugula from Sam's)

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup shelled edamame or peas or garbanzos 

1 sweet bell pepper, chopped

Any other veggies: cucumber slices, shredded cabbage, scallions, etc

Dressing:

2 heaping spoonfuls of creamy natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 limes, juiced

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce, Bragg’s liquid aminos or tamari 

salt to taste

Directions:

Clean and prepare veggies. The kale especially, tastes better in small pieces. Place all in a large bowl, then prepare the dressing. If you have added extra veggies, go ahead and double the dressing recipe! (I always do.) Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl, then drizzle and massage them over the kale mixture. 

Leftovers will taste great the next day! Thanks for the recipe, Jennifer!