Kale, Brussel Sprout, Apple, Quina & Pomegranate Salad (warm Up Week)

This quick and easy shaved Brussels sprout kale salad with cranberry vinaigrette is protein packed with quinoa and pine nuts, sweetened with cranberries and tangy thanks to tart apple. This makes a lot - good for sharing, or pair back accordingly.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded in a food processor (see blog post for details)

• 2 cups lacinato kale, sliced into thin strips and chopped

• 1 cup cooked rainbow quinoa 

• ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts (or hemp,sunflower or sesame seeds)

• ¼ -⅓ cup no sugar added dried cranberries (or raisins & goji berries)

• ¾ cup pomegranate seeds

• 1 green apple, diced

• 1-2 teaspoons (or more if desired) of  nutritional yeast (for a cheesy flavor)

Cranberry Vinaigrette 

• 2 tbsp shallots, diced

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ cup plain, pure no sugar added cranberry juice

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1  tablespoon pure maple syrup

• 2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves (or cilantro if you don’t like parsley)

• ¾ tsp salt

• ½ tsp pepper

How to:

• Make the cranberry vinaigrette by whisking together all of the ingredients.

• Toss the Brussels sprouts, kale and quinoa in the vinaigrette and let sit for a minimum of 10 minutes, preferably 30-45 minutes. 

• Add nutritional yeast, pine nuts, cranberries, pomegranate seeds and apple ~ and toss with kale/brussels sprouts mixture. Taste and season with additional salt & pepper & nutritional yeast if needed.