recipes/ salads + greens

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad | Well and Full | #vegan #salad #recipe

Has the craziness of the holidays kicked in for you yet? It’s been busy over here but not unmanageable, which I really appreciate. I feel like everybody on the planet is talking about holiday craziness right now, so I’m going to take it in a different direction and talk about self-care (which I guess kind of relates to it after all).

I was reading this post by Renee of Will Frolic For Food, where she talks about how to mitigate stressors and overwhelming situations, especially for highly sensitive people. And it got me to thinking about self-care in general, and how the term is thrown back at millennials like a jab – like how we’re the “most selfish” generation to even DARE taking care of ourselves.

But, you know, that’s kind of rich coming from a generation who grew up with four TV channels and one daily newspaper. If you stop and think about it, it’s actually insane how different today’s culture is from 30-40 years ago. Nowadays, we are absolutely saturated with so much of literally everything. You can get your news from hundreds of places, and there are multiple ways to share every detail of your life with followers and friends. There’s twenty restaurants you could go to on a given night, not to mention stores, shops, and bars. We are inundated with hundreds of choices for virtually everything that is choose-able in our lives. In some ways that’s incredibly freeing, and in other ways it’s completely overwhelming. And just to be crystal clear, I am NOT calling for any sort of rules or regulations to limit our choices, but it IS worth mentioning the side effect of what so much freedom entails.

So where am I going with this? Good question. I guess the thing to do is always evaluate yourself and recognize when things are getting to be too much. Because honestly, sometimes they do. With stimuli at every turn, sometimes it’s best to just unplug, relax, and take a calming lavender and peppermint essential oil bath. Or, you know, whatever floats your relaxation boat! (But if you’ve never tried an essential oil bath – you should. Draw hot water and add 5-6 drops your fave essential oil. Calm City!)


Today’s recipe is actually one of the ways I practice self-care – by eating something that I know will nourish my body. But it has to be delicious too, because it won’t nourish my mind if it’s not delectable. So here’s what you do – roast the purple cauliflower and chickpeas until they’re browned. Get some kale into a bowl with olive oil and lemon and work it with your hands until it’s tender. Then, add in some chopped veggies and mixed nuts and you’ve got a killer salad. As always, feel free to mix-and-match any other fruit, veg, or nuts that you like. I hope you love this salad! :)

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad | Well and Full | #vegan #salad #recipe

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad | Well and Full | #vegan #salad #recipe

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad

This vegan kale chopped salad is full of vibrant colors and flavors, with Cajun-spiced chickpeas, roasted purple cauliflower, and chopped avocado.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients
  

Roasted Purple Cauliflower

  • 1 Head Purple Cauliflower
  • Pinch Salt
  • Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
  • Pinch Cayenne optional

Cajun Chickpeas

  • 1 15 oz Can Chickpeas rinsed and dried
  • Drizzle Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Cajun Seasoning
  • 1/2 Tsp Paprika

Kale Greens

  • 2 Very Large Handfuls Kale chopped
  • A Squeeze of Lemon Juice
  • Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Pinch Salt and Pepper

The Rest of the Salad

  • 1/2 Cucumber chopped
  • 1 Avocado chopped
  • Sprouts optional
  • Chopped Almonds optional
  • Hemp seeds optional

Instructions
 

Roasted Purple Cauliflower + Cajun Chickpeas

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Prep your cauliflower - wash, dry, and cut into small-ish florets. In a bowl, toss with oil, salt, and spices until evenly coated.
  • Prep your chickpeas - rinse, dry completely, and toss with oil, salt, and spices. 
  • On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake cauliflower and chickpeas for 25-30 minutes.
  • Optional - when done, remove cauliflower from baking sheet, and broil chickpeas in the oven for about 2-3 minutes, for extra crispiness. Be sure to check often to ensure they don't burn!

Kale Greens

  • To prep the kale greens, add them into a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Using your hands, rub the oil and lemon into the kale so that it becomes tender. Don't skip this step! 

The Rest of the Salad

  • Prep your veggies - chop up your cucumber and avocado. I would recommend discarding the inner part of the cucumber, as it gets rather soggy.

Putting it All Together

  • In a bowl, mix in the tenderized kale, veggies, chickpeas, cauliflower, almonds, hemp seeds, and sprouts. Toss until everything is evenly mixed.
  • Divide up the salad into 2-3 bowls (or one if you're feeling extra hungry!) 
  • Enjoy!

Notes

By tenderizing the kale with olive oil and lemon, you kind of have a built-in salad dressing already, but feel free to add your favorite dressing as extra if you'd like! Also, romanesco or regular white cauliflower would work just fine here too :)

Vegan Kale Chopped Salad | Well and Full | #vegan #salad #recipe

P.S.

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram @wellandfull with the hashtag #wellandfull!

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Rachel Fuhrman
    December 13, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    5 stars
    This salad looks SO GOOD!! And those Cajun Chickpeas I think are my favorite!

    Always gotta add a little spice :)

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 13, 2017 at 2:38 pm

      Thank you Rachel! :)

  • Reply
    Meredith Youngson | Earth & Oven
    December 13, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    Self care via salad, i love it :) especially when its delicious + packed with spicy chickpeas to nourish my carb loving side ;)

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 13, 2017 at 8:50 pm

      My thoughts exactly!! ;) Thanks, Meredith :)

  • Reply
    Katya
    December 14, 2017 at 8:34 am

    This salad looks absoltely AMAZING and I love kale, so guess what–it lands immediately in my bookmarks! :)

    Self care and Christmas–that’s a very important subject and I guess not emphasised enough. A perfect Christmas dinner or a perfect Christmas tree are not really worth all the stress they can produce. Besides, all the Christmas craziness is just a by-product of what Christmas should be for those who believe in its spiritual aspects. You really don’t need all the fuss to appreciate the birth of Christ; a peaceful and loving heart is far more important :)

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 14, 2017 at 6:46 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind note, Katya! And I couldn’t agree with you more about the spirit of Christmas… as a Catholic, it is one of our most joyful times of the year and it’s meant a lot to me to have a beautiful church community to share it with. But regardless of religious affiliation, a peaceful and loving heart, like you said, will go a long way :)

  • Reply
    Albert
    December 14, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    I eat salads everyday, so I am always looking for new creations, when I stumbled upon this recipe my mouth dropped to the floor! this looks absolutely delicious!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 14, 2017 at 6:46 pm

      Thank you so much Albert!! :)

  • Reply
    Weekend Reading | The Full Helping
    December 17, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    […] seasonal, and vibrant salad to start with. I love all of the color and crunch in Sarah’s chopped kale salad, which includes cajun chickpeas, sliced almonds, hemp seeds, and brightly colored purple […]

  • Reply
    GiGi
    December 20, 2017 at 4:30 pm

    Avocado seriously makes the world go ROUND and ROUND!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      December 20, 2017 at 5:17 pm

      It totally does! I don’t care if it’s too “millennial”, give me my avocado!! :D

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