I love everything about this salad: the chewy kale, crisp toasted coconut, and juicy blueberries; not to mention the stellar nutritional profile if its main ingredient. Kale is packed with vitamins A, C, & K, iron, calcium, and antioxidants. If you haven’t been eating this superfood, now might be a good time to start!
Massaged kale salads hit their heyday a few years ago, but I still love ’em. If you haven’t heard about – or tasted – this type of salad, let me break it down for you. The name actually says it all: you literally massage a bit of oil into the kale in order to tenderize the somewhat tough green leaves.
I usually use olive oil for my massage kale salads, but I opted for coconut oil in this case because it (obviously) complements the toasted coconut flakes. Which brings me to my second note about this recipe. Flaked coconut is brought to a whole new level when toasted to a light golden hue, but in the blink of an eye it can go from perfectly golden to burnt black. Keep an eye on the coconut while it’s in the toaster oven!
So we’ve discussed kale and coconut. What’s left? Blueberries! My favorite berry, both for their flavor and nutrients. Lauded for their antioxidants, blueberries are often labeled by those in the nutritional field as one of the healthiest foods you can eat. I love the tiny wild Maine variety, but they can be tough to come by – even here in Massachusetts – so I stock up on any organic blueberries I can find at a reasonable price throughout the summer months.
Enjoy this salad alongside grilled chicken for a healthy summer dinner, or all on its own as a light lunch.
Blueberry & Toasted Coconut Kale Salad
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Keywords: appetizer salad entree side vegan vegetarian summer
Ingredients (2 servings)
- about 15 medium-sized lacinato (dinosaur) kale leaves, preferably organic, stemmed and thinly sliced into “ribbons”
- 1 1/2 tsp virgin coconut oil, preferably organic, melted
- 1 pinch sea salt (or Kosher salt)
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, preferably organic
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
Drizzle the melted coconut oil over the kale ribbons in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Massage the kale until the leaves soften, about 5 minutes.
Toss with blueberries and toasted coconut flakes.
