Kale Salad

Kale really packs a nutritional punch. Loaded with *vitamins A, K, B6, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese PLUS only 33 calories a cup! It's a great addition to a healthy diet... but...not everyone likes it. It can be bitter and a little too much texture for some. Recently I tried Greg Sella's Kale Salad, it was simply amazing, you wouldn't guess it was made with chopped kale and broccoli slaw. NO bitterness, No chewiness, just sweet, salty, a little crunchy, delish and good for you! Greg says letting the salad sit overnight in the dressing takes all the bitterness down. The ingredients are substantial enough to hold up well in the fridge for a few days too. I really like make-ahead dishes, having healthy ready-to-eats keeps my diet on track. 

I literally threw this together in 5 minutes with pre-chopped veggies. Gotta like that.  

Greg's Kale Salad

10 oz pre-chopped kale (I rough chopped it a bit more plus removed any large stems)

12 oz pre-made broccoli slaw

1 cup pre-diced red onion

6 oz herbed feta
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
8 or13 oz Litehouse Coleslaw dressing

1 or 2 tbs dijon mustard

In a large bowl combine first 5 ingredients, toss. Mix together dressing and mustard and work though salad. I don't like a lot of dressing on any salad so I recommend starting with the 8oz and 1 tbs, if the salad seems too dry for you go ahead and mix the remaining amount and stir into salad thoroughly. 
Hope and I like the bitterness of Kale and would be happy to eat the salad right away, that is completely mellowed the next day. When Greg served this to our crew at the Christmas party most of us thought it had apple, the broccoli takes on that much sweetness from the dressing. Even Kale haters or fear-ers liked it!

Did you know we get FrEsH Produce deliveries 6 days a week? Many fruits and veggies arrived prepped and LOTS more get prepped right here by our SuPeR Produce Team! This makes getting 5 a day on a busy schedule a breeze! 

Thanks again to Greg Sella for another one of his Hometown Healthy recipes! 
P.S.~ If you’re really in a rush or don’t want to commit to a whole salad just stop by the Deli, Hope has it as a grab an go!

*vitamin info from Mayo Clinic website

Fresh Starts

January is full of fresh starts. The Holidays have passed, the tree and decorations are all put away and I start to feel a little claustrophobic. Blankets and candles everywhere, I never (maybe once in my life) put away seasonal clothes consequently the closet is overflowing. Same with the cupboards, like everything is bursting at the seams... me included. Time to get back to basics. Returning to my healthy eating with more lean protein, fruits and veggies, adding a little more exercise and stream lining this operation. Which means shedding some accumulated stuff. 

For some reason I hang onto clothing items for WAY longer than I should. I have many justifications for this: it might come back in style, I might fit in it again, I might like the way it looks on me, what if I go somewhere someday that would be the perfect place to wear it... The easiest way for me to really get in there and get rid of things that are just taking up space is to know I have a person or place where they will go to good use. I have a few friends that like to take a look before sending the residual to their favorite charity. So fun to look through a girlfriends closet anyway! Then I take everything out of a section of closet and each item has to earn it's way back in. I must admit if I hang onto the bag for long I'll go back through and take stuff out, so out it goes asap!

To get a young Mom's perspective on this annual clean out I asked Cake Decorator Kailie, turns out she is waaaay more organized than me. Really no surprise there :) ~

Kailie~

"I’ve been lucky and have been given lots of hand me down clothes and toys for my kids, which has gotten me in the habit of going through stuff every couple months. Before rotating clothes we’ve been given into the kid's closet I’ll go through their current stuff and see what we can give to younger cousins and what we can donate to Lassen Family Services and same with toys. The kid stuff we have bought we try to sell or trade in at Once Upon a Child in Reno, I love that place! I usually pick one big project like this a month and just cycle through the house easily this way. One month do the kids room, next month do mine, next the laundry room. If you have been keeping something that you want to use or ‘should’ use but don’t, get rid of it! Best advise I’ve gotten. It clears space for new fresh energy/habits." 

This seems like a great resolution or at least goal for me to strive towards!

There are many local organizations that would love to receive nice usable clothing, toys and household items. Lassen Family Services and Lassen Humane Society are great resources!