Kale & Spanish Tuna Salad

No matter how hungry you are, you will not save time by eating crap. No -- that spinach wrap from Starbucks is not healthy, and it will not really save you time, because you'll spend twice as much time working it off at the gym or stressing about it later. Why not just remove all crap from your life and decide to eat healthy, treat your body right, and learn how to make healthy food quickly!

Thats what my blog is all about, you guys, really. Once you are comfortable with your kitchen, your fridge, your pantry, your favorite skillet and your grocery list, you will be able to cook healthy food quickly, I promise.

Here's a classic 10 minute salad (15 minutes if you stop and take pictures along the way :)

Reach into your fridge, and grab something like kale (could be arugula, could be spinach, could even be iceberg but I think you can do better than iceberg). Pull everything out at once: carrots, cucumbers, celery, whatever looks ready to eat.  I have these Brussel sprout leaves from the other day when I made garlic Brussel sprouts. I always remove the outer leaves because otherwise they fall off while I'm grilling and they burn -- so I remove and save them for a salad. See! OK, so its easy: spray or drizzle some olive oil in your flat cast iron skillet, turn to low, and spread the sprout leaves around evenly, sprinkle with salt. 

Take your kale leaves off the veins and rip it into a bowl with organic olive oil. I used about 7 big stalks - lots of kale. Did you know you need to MASSAGE KALE??!?  well, my loves, you do.  You should massage kale with olive oil for a few minutes with your hands... that means kneading it like bread and squishing the leaves with your fingers to smooth out the fibers. It makes it taste better and makes it more digestible. 

Meanwhile I tossed my sprout leaves around in the pan a few times, so that they were over heat for about 5 minutes, then I took them off the heat. I took a carrot and my favorite mandolin slicer and sliced it into the bowl. Add some fresh herbs -- I have thyme in the fridge, but anything will be yummy -- oregano, basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, mint -- so just be brave and toss it in.

One of my new favorite things: Champagne vinegar -- add some, and some mustard, and keep tossing. The key to dressing is:

one base: olive oil, smashed avocado 

one acid: lemon, lime, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, soy sauce

one or two curveballs: greek yogurt, pesto, mayo, mustard, honey

one or two herbs: any

salt & pepper

You want about 2 parts base to one part acid, and equal parts curveball to base. This is approximate. If you want to really learn, come over and do it with me. I've been making salad dressings since I was about 4 years old in my moms farm kitchen.

I added my favorite protein: Tonnino Oregano infused Spanish tuna, that I get from WFM for $6.99 for 8oz jar.  Tuna is a big fish, so its higher in mercury than other fish, like sardines, which are a healthier choice, but a few times a month I love tuna, salmon or other large fish. Toss everything together, add a few Mary's crackers and enjoy!