Lemony Kale Salad Kids Love

Kale salad is something your kids will be asking for again and again after they try this! Just a few tricks take kale from being something the hardiest vegan struggles to get down in its raw state to something even my toddlers requested!

Choosing kale for your salad:

There are several important elements that go into making a kale salad that kids will love, but I’d say choosing the right kale is at the top of the list. Grocery stores have made it “simple” by selling pre-washed, pre-chopped kale. DON’T DO IT! They do not de-stem the kale, leaving super fibrous, hard to chew discard in your salad. Plus, there is ALWAYS a rotting leaf somewhere in those bags! Go down the aisle a little further, and find a bunch of fresh, whole kale leaves. My family’s favorite is the Lacinato variety. (Also sometimes called dinosaur kale.) But if all you find is Common Curly kale or Red Russian, fear not! It will still be delectable!

Wait, you’re going to eat kale RAW?

Within the last few months, I have had 2 separate grandmas asking me how I plan to prepare the mound of kale on the conveyer belt beside me at the grocery store. When I told them we eat it raw in salads, they were both baffled! When I first started eating kale, I thought it was an impossible mission, too. I figured adding it to soup or blending it in a smoothie were my only options.

Then I came upon recipes for kale salads that required a “quick” blanch (nothing is quick about waiting for water to boil!) or massaging endlessly in water. I went with that method for a while, until one day, I was truly in a hurry. I had already washed the kale, so I de-stemmed it, chopped it up, and dumped the salad dressing ingredients directly on the kale. Ingredients like raw garlic that came out of the garlic press in clumps, and brewer’s yeast, meant that a spoon was not up for the job of incorporating.

The trick to tender, raw kale salads:

I had to get my hands involved. And to my surprise, the kale was tenderized in mere MOMENTS compared to what I had been doing earlier in cold water alone! I have never gone back. The combination of the acid and the oil get the job done in a snap! An added bonus: you don’t dirty extra dishes when you dump the ingredients directly onto the kale! My kids regularly ask for this salad. I’m met with a chorus of “yesss!” when I say we’re having it for dinner. Now that they are older, I usually pass the job of making this salad off to one of them—it’s that simple (and fun for them!).

Preparing the kale itself:

Grab 3 bunches of kale leaves. Rinse thoroughly— really look under the folds to get any and all critters out! If the kale is very fresh, you should be able to grab the stem from the bottom and run your hands all the way down to the tip, pulling the leaves off as you go. If you’re somewhere like Okinawa buying the out-of-season-$7-a-bunch-variety from the Commisary, it will be very wilted and sad. You’ll need to grab a knife and slice the leaves off either side of the stem. I promise, it will still be delicious once the dressing is on! Chop into the size of bites you will want to have in your mouth.

Turn that bitter kale into something DELICIOUS!

You know I love to use an oversized bowl so I have plenty of room to mix without throwing pieces all over the counter. This simple adjustment is a major game changer in saving time! I start by zesting one lemon, then juicing it, trying to cover the overall surface of the kale. Then I do a few spins around the bowl of avocado oil. Use olive oil if you prefer the strong flavor. Grab your coconut aminos and if it has the little stopper, give it some good shakes all around the bowl. Costco’s coconut aminos doesn’t have the stopper, so it’s been an adjustment having to be more careful with it! Thankfully it’s not as intense as soy sauce and won’t completely ruin the salad if you get a bit much. Drop in a few chopped cloves of garlic, cover the surface with a light sprinkling of brewer’s yeast. Do one circular pass around the bowl of mustard—any kind you prefer. Get your hands in there and start massaging! You’ll feel the texture transform almost immediately.

“A little of this, a little of that” style!

I’ll give more exact measurements below, but at some point, do try it this way! If you don’t naturally prepare food like and Italian grandma, start practicing! You’ll learn what looks right, and how to tweak a few things to make it just right. It’s been a journey for me. I’m naturally one to cling to exact “how-to’s” but it’s been a fun low-stakes area to challenge growth in my life!

Dress it up, or eat your kale salad as is!

Transfer to a smaller dish once all of the ingredients are well incorporated if you intend to set it on the table. Top with any of your favorite salad toppers! We usually add Manchego cheese. Depending on the protein content of the rest of our meal, we might add hulled hemp hearts or pepitos. My kids love ground pecans on everything, so they often find their way on this salad as well! I regularly bring this to potlucks and every single time, at least one person (if not more) asks me for my recipe!

MAKE LEMONY KALE SALAD!