Kale ... It's What's For Dinner.

Yo, yo, yo, Gnawers!  Well, another week has come to a close.  I am definitely ready for some R and R this weekend, aren't you?  It's Friday (as I am sure you are well aware), and I was not up for cooking a whole lot tonight...  Well, that, and the fact that I have a gazillion leftovers.  Anyone want to pop on over and help me clean some of these up?  

Anywho, I really did not need to cook, but I wanted to bring you all another recipe as we move forward on this journey!  Friday nights are sometimes difficult for me.  You know ... it is the start of the weekend and I am often tempted to throw caution to the wind (read: eat and drink less than nutritious things in higher quantities than necessary).  I was that feeling that way tonight.  I am not going to lie!  I have been craving gooey, cheesy pizza for several days.  I knew I wouldn't go that far, but I did have urges for sure.  It is sort of funny though ... even though I still occasionally have cravings for these things, when it comes down to it, it sort of grosses me out to think about eating them.  Don't get me wrong ... I am sure there is a healthier version of cheesy pizza and baked french fries in my future.  But, the thought of eating something smothered in grease and made of God knows what makes me feel a little sick to my stomach.  It is like I know ahead of time now that it really just isn't worth it... at least not tonight.  ;)  Still, I was wanting a little splurge around 6:00 PM.  I ended up eating a handful of pistachios, a cup of sun dried tomatoes, some celery with cashew "cheese", and two glasses of wine.  I know I sound a little crazy, but it felt like a nice little "splurge".  Best part is ... no guilt and perfectly healthy.  Not bad!  

I still wanted to make some dinner to add another recipe to the blog, so I decided to make a recipe I adapted from the Modern Hippie Mag Website.  If you know me at all, you know that it figures that I would pic a recipe from a website with this name! ;)  Anyway, I was a bit hesitant to make this recipe because the preparation instructions seemed odd and a little gross to me.  I am talking about directions to "massage" several of the ingredients into the kale (you will see what I mean when I get to the recipe).  I don't mind touching my own food, but it didn't seem appropriate to be touching (let alone massaging) something I would serve to other people.  Luckily, it was just me tonight, so I gave it a shot.  It was not nearly as disturbing as I thought it would be.  When the recipe says to "massage", it basically means to sort of knead and squeeze the kale with your hands.  Again, I don't know how I would feel about serving this to others having touched it all, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.  I've done the same thing when making cookie dough, so no need to freak out about it, right?  Plus, as delicious as it turned out, I can see myself doing a lot more kale massaging in my future...

Kale and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 5 cups kale (stems removed; this is about half of a large Glory Foods bad of kale or one fresh large bunch)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed sea salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or bottled if you don't have any fresh)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 large ripe avocado, cubed
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons seeds (the original recipe calls for hemp seeds, but I didn't have them.  I used sunflower seeds and they worked great)

Preparation Instructions:

• Put kale in a large bowl.
• Add salt and massage (squeeze and toss) it into the kale with your hands until the kale begins to wilt.
• Add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and onion to bowl.  Continue to massage mixture as kale wilts and shrinks.
• Add cucumber, seeds, and avocado.  Toss gently with two spoons (to keep avocado from getting mushy).
• Add extra salt if needed.
• Serve and enjoy!

This salad was perfect.  The kale is crunchy, the lemon and olive oil create a fresh yummy flavor, and the avocado adds the perfect amount of creaminess.  The seeds make the salad prettier, but they may not be necessary unless you are trying to get in some extra nutrients with this meal.  All in all, this salad is a definite winner and one I will be making again and again.

I also made a sandwich to go along with this fabu salad.  I used Genesis sprouted grain bread slathered with Vegenaise and topped with tomatoes, sprouts, sea salt, and cracked black pepper.  Simple and delicious.  I am telling you, people, that Vegenaise puts mayo to shame in my book!  I eat this sandwich often as a snack or as part of a meal.  It really doesn't get any easier that this.

The salad and the sandwich took me a total of 10 minutes to make.  Easy peasy and healthy vegan meal.  Yummmmmm.

In other news, I have done a little house keeping around here.  You may have noticed that the blog looks a little spiffed up.  I have been doing some work on the design.  I also added a few extras for fun!  Beyond that, I created a Facebook Page for Hell If I Gnaw and would love it if you would "like" it and join!  There is a link to do so on the right bar of this page.  If you want to be even more awesome, become a follower of this page too!  I am working hard to get traffic up and get more people on board.  It is amazing how a spark can start a fire and how each of your sparks keeps me going!  Let me know what you think about the changes.  I am always open to feedback!

Well, sweet Gnawers, I hope that you get the chance to enjoy this weekend and that you will continue to build healthy choices into your lives daily.  Remember ... this is not at all about perfection.  It is about making lasting changes in LIFESTYLE.  It is about finding health.  It is about living longer.  It is about taking a stand against a society that bombards us with unhealthy messages in so many ways.  It is about empowerment.  It is about taking care of yourself and valuing who you are inside and out.  It is about taking the journey back to yourself and taking yourself to new places.  It is about compassion.  It is about humor.  It is about LIFE.  

Until next time, my friends ... take care of you!