Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hot Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Occasionally it dawns on me that I haven’t eaten anything green in way too long, and I feel an urge to overcompensate.  I think this is a familiar feeling for most people.  My husband’s reaction is to open up the container of raw spinach and just start shoving handfuls into his mouth.  “Taking his medicine,” I believe is how he describes it.  Well, that makes it seem like a penance, and I love food too much to waste any of my lifetime meals on something I don’t want to eat.  So I’m going to go the extra mile (when I can) and make a salad like this one.  This is about as righteous as a salad gets.

Ok, so, making salad is, in my opinion, a really cumbersome chore, and I honestly believe that I would eat more salad if someone else would just effing make it for me.  However, this salad gets bonus points from me because it stands up to the dressing long enough to last a few days in the fridge without getting too wilted or gross.  That means if I just spend a little time chopping (which, frankly, can be kind of therapeutic), then I can enjoy at least three days of salads for lunch.  And even better, I’ve recently decided to suck it up and just let the food processor with the handy slicing blade attachment do most of the work.  I used to resist this option because I was too lazy to create more dishes to wash, but really, it takes less time than hand-chopping a million Brussels sprouts, plus I’m less likely to lose a finger.

Ok, so the secret to making all this fibery-ness taste good is, imo, a nice fine chop.  If the pieces are too big, they’re too hard to eat, and the dressing doesn’t coat as evenly.  A really thin slice/shred makes perfectly edible little bites. (Once again, a point in favor of using the food processor.)

This is a good make-ahead salad for lunches (which I’m always looking for), and it’s also a great way to fill your plate with some fiber and greens at dinner time.  You can use it as a side dish, or it can be the main event.  When I make this an entree salad, I serve it with some easily homemade whole grain tortilla crackers (made by toasting some Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas in the oven and then cracking into pieces).  You can also bulk it up with extra nuts, or maybe a little bit of cheese on the side.  And then since we’ve been so wholesome already, maybe throw in a glass of wine (even as a card-carrying, life-long red drinker, I can acknowledge that this pairs perfectly with a light crisp white) or some dark chocolate for dessert.  We don’t want to go overboard on the “health” stuff…

Alright, here’s the scoop on how to make a gigantic bowl of delicious salady goodness…

[lt_recipe name=”Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hot Honey Mustard Vinaigrette | www.eighteenalmonds.com” servings=”6″ prep_time=”25M” cook_time=” ” total_time=”25M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”A wholesome meal for those days when you know you need more greens in your life!” print=”yes” image=”http://www.eighteenalmonds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_7746-150×150.jpg” ingredients=”15-20 large raw Brussels sprouts;1 head of kale (curly or lacinato);1/8 c. sesame seeds, toasted;1/3 c. sliced almonds, toasted;1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced;1/3 c. raisins;1/4 c. dijon mustard;3 tbsp. white wine vinegar;1 tbsp. honey;1 tbsp. Sriracha;1 tsp. black pepper;1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil (+/-);Other topping ideas include: ;Chopped walnuts;Pepitas;Dried cranberries;Green onions;Golden raisins” ]In a large salad bowl, combine the first six ingredients.;In a separate container (I like to use a liquid measuring cup), combine mustard, vinegar, honey, Sriracha, and pepper and whisk together. ;Continue whisking as you pour in the olive oil, adding 1/4 cup or more if it isn’t quite thin enough to pour. If you like a lot of dressing, adding up to 1/2 cup will give you more to work with, but you may want to add it a little at a time to be sure your salad isn’t over-dressed. ;Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together. Store for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. [/lt_recipe]