Curly Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad & Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Super satisfying salad packed with protein rich walnuts and your pick of colorful vegetables.  Serve up this Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad with a quick Balsamic Vinaigrette for a fortifying lunch or as side with any dinner entree.  Your body and brain will thank you.

I have been busy lately with truffles and have not been making time for my blog.    As you might guess Chocolate Truffles are popular gift around holidays so February and March were a whirlwind for me, but a super fun whirlwind with truffles inside!

I invite you to have a look at my work in progress  Katestruffles.com when you have a few minutes and let me know what flavor you think I should try next.

Psst.  I’ve got one in mind… it’s black and white and starts with an O.

I find it fun to create in the kitchen and thankfully there has been no shortage of friends and family to test recipes and help us with leftovers. We are appreciative that my brother, David, is always willing to lend a hand and pick up a spoon to help clean out the fridge. And my super supportive friends under the age of 10, Charles and James.

I know I can’t slip anything unworthy of the blog past those 2 kids.  Their brother Nathaniel is really coming along as a taster too, but he is only 2 years old so he needs to work on his language skills a bit before I can really take him seriously.

I need something besides “more, more, more” before I can recommend it to my friends.  But I will tell you in all seriousness that he could not get enough of my new top secret truffle flavor,  his clarity on the new flavor was unmistakeable.

If not for our taste testers, Ken and I  would undoubtedly have a severe weight problem due to the amount of food produced in my kitchen.  Which brings me to another reason I have found less time to blog.  I joined a “club” recently, which was time consuming and quickly took control over my life.

In January I joined a group of neighborhood women in a friendly contest to help us all lose weight prior to Spring Break, The Neighborhood Biggest Loser Contest. We all contributed money up front and the place winners would rake it in when we weighed in on the last week of our 3 month effort.

I had no delusions that I would win this contest because I had actually lost several pounds last year before our trip to Italy and knew it would be difficult to lose more. My goal in joining was to keep off what I had lost.

Much to my surprise,  I soon became so obsessed with my weight and lack of weight loss that I would find myself stepping onto the scale many times throughout the day as well as the middle of the night. The day before our weekly check in was especially tense.

During the contest I struggled to lose weight, even though I was regularly exercising more and eating less I was frustrated with the miniscule progress.  I would lose 1 pound then rejoice over the weekend and it would reappear for the next week’s challenge.

Those Friday morning check ins were highly motivating, in that, I did not want to see that red arrow pointing up revealing me as the only club member who gained rather than lost that week. The women in the challenge were very supportive and, ultimately, I was successful in keeping weight off and did, in fact, lose a few pounds but not nearly enough to win a top prize.

I am so relieved now that the contest is over.

These days I am actually afraid to step onto the scale after my care free week of Spring Break overindulgence.

That “Biggest Loser” contest was eye opening in so many ways including my uncharacteristic obsessive behavior.  During the last 3 months I began a new book titled  Drop Acid  —totally not what you are thinking.

The author is Dan Perlmutter, MD and his book Drop Acid highlights the latest in medical research related to weight loss and the current health crisis  specific to the US. There is a statistic in the book which I found disturbing   “… an astounding 73.6% of the US population over the age of 20 is overweight or obese. That’s roughly 3 out of 4 adults.”

More stats include children as young as 2-5 years old facing obesity issues in this country.

Dr. Perlmutter has found a correlation between high levels of uric acid and metabolic syndrome, which is his term for the lifestyle diseases an increasing number of Americans are developing year after year. According to Dr. Perlmutter, fructose is public enemy #1 because it fuels high levels of uric acid in the body and aggravates metabolic syndrome.

The book is totally engrossing, easy to understand and makes complete sense of some of the  health issues Americans face on a daily basis. The research studies detailed in the book also answer questions that have about why Americans alone are facing some of these very serious health issues.

This is another book I strongly encourage you to go out and borrow or buy next time you are out.

New Strategy for Optimal Health

Another really great thing to come out of my participation in the Neighborhood Biggest Loser contest was Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad.

I love this salad!

It is healthy.

It is fresh.

It has a little crunch as well as some zing and you will feel satiated for a long time.

Brussel sprouts are full of fiber, protein, and potassium. Kale is weight friendly and good source of vitamin K, B and C with lots of other essential minerals.

Put them together, add some walnuts and you have made one super healthy salad. I have been striving to eat less and less meat and Ken is slowly coming along.  Everyone knows by now that you don’t need to eat more meat to get more protein and plant based protein can leave you feeling just as full. This  salad proves it.

Nuts Quiz True or False:

1. Nuts are fattening, so you should limit your intake to avoid weight gain
2. Peanut butter is good source of protein
3. Tree nuts like walnuts and almonds have lower risk of cancer
4. Almond milk is a great source of protein and fiber
5. Eat nuts 2-3 times a week for maximum benefit

  Answers 1. F  2. F  3. T  4. F  5.F

It is true that nuts and seeds are the most energy dense foods you can eat.  Then why do we find them in the snack aisle near the Doritos, potato chips and popcorn? We just don’t expect much out of nuts.

Unlike chips and pretzels, nuts are an excellent source of both protein and fat. Nuts also contain lots of fiber, minerals and other healing nutrients. A handful of raw nuts (with the exception of peanuts, which are legumes) are an exceptionally healthy snack and won’t spike your blood sugar levels.

A handful a nuts per day can make a powerful impact on your health. Here are a few nutty facts:

1. Good for weight loss
2. Good for arterial health and blood pressure
3. And may lower your risk for lifestyle diseases (i.e. heart disease, type II diabetes)
4. Walnuts help aging brain function better

To make this super simple vinaigrette for the Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad combine:

• Olive oil    1/3 cup
• Balsamic vinegar    4 t
• Dijon mustard   1/2 T

This recipe makes enough for 4 people using average amount of vinaigrette dressing on their salads or to dress the entire salad before serving.  Double the recipe and use it for more kale salad later in the week because this recipe makes 6+ cups!

I hope you find time to try this super green Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad & Balsamic Vinaigrette and be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Things you may need for this recipe:

kale

brussel sprouts

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

walnuts