Cory and I just celebrated our first year of marriage. Time has flown by. It feels like yesterday that I put on the white dress and walked down the longest aisle ever in the Cadet Chapel at West Point. It was the most perfect day shared with our family and friends. This weekend we celebrated with food, food, wine and more food. I surprised my hubs with a five course wine paired tasting. It was deliciously decadent and fabulous. We ate every last bite of every single meal. Drank mimosas poolside, but I did eat a veggie burger for lunch! On the healthier side we spent a couple of hours at Bliss Spa, watched the sunrise and went for a much needed morning run. We tried to find a balance, but MAN…we were celebrating this the best day of our lives.
With that said it is now time to detox! As I have said in many posts I firmly believe in the 80-20 rule. I try to remain disciplined 80 percent of the time and like to splurge on the weekends. It helps me make healthy choices, but gives me some wiggle room so that I never feel like food dictates my existence.
Let the detoxing begin…even though we live in Florida, and it is warm all year round, the humidity is slowly rolling out and I am enjoying all things fall and pumpkin. I wanted to utilize kale and brussels sprouts to make a hearty salad that even a midwest man can love. I bring to you my sweet, savory, crunchy fall kale and brussels salad.
Ingredients:
1 Large Yellow Onion
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 package of clicked baby bellas
1/4 C raisins
Directions:
Heat oil on medium heat, add chopped onion and cook until caramelized in color and pungent smell is reduced. Add onions to a bowl and add mushrooms and raisins to pan where onion was cooked. Cooked until mushrooms are soft and raisins are warm and plumped.
Ingredients:
8-10 Brussels Sprouts Sliced Thinly
1 Thinly Chopped Green Apple
Directions:
Slice sprouts as thinly as possible. Try 1/16 of an inch. Thinly slice green apple. Place in a bowl and set aside.
Dressing:
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
3 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbs Honey
Dash of Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to Taste
Directions:
Whisk Olive Oil, Vinegar, Honey, Salt and Pepper together and pour half over sprouts and apple mixture. Refrigerate mixture and dressing.
Ingredients:
1/4 C sliced almonds
Directions:
Place sliced almonds in a frying pan on medium heat. Toast until golden brown and toasted. Be careful not to burn. This should take five minutes.
Ingredients:
4 Cups Chopped Kale with Stems Removed.
1/8 C dressing
Directions:
Add kale to a large bowl. Pour dressing and massage kale until reduced by half.
Optional Additions:
Quinoa
Chicken
Skirt Steak
Time to build the salad!
Place kale on a large platter. Top with almonds, onion, sprout/apple mixture, quinoa (optional) and your choice of protein. Top with additional dressing and toss. I had a package of chicken tenders that I grilled, but any protein would be great!
Love and Brussels,
Taylor