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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

LUNCHBOX IDEAS :: KALE SALAD WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND CRISPY POLENTA CHIPS


This salad does not contain egg, dairy or gluten.


Hands up if you are a kale fan! Yep, I know I'm not alone.  I love kale and spinach in salads.  They add protein and so much needed nutrition.  I was going for color with a side of crisp on this recipe and the results did not disappoint.  It's appealing to the taste buds and the eyes!



Here are the details you need to make this salad at home.  All ingredients are from Trader Joe's.  

Ingredients

1 bag of kale
1 jar of roasted peppers
2 orange carrots
2 purple carrots
organic polenta 
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning

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Warm up the oven to 450F.  Cut the polenta in 1/2 and slice it into chips.  Place on an oven tray lined with foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning.  Wash and peel the carrots.  Slice into chips too and place on the same tray.  Bake in the oven for about 35 min, turning your "polenta fries" over at 20 min so they get crispy all around.  You will need to take the carrots out after about 15 min.  Allow to cool.  

In the meantime, rinse and dry the kale.  You might want to chop it up a little bit into smaller pieces.  Rinse the roasted peppers and slice into strips.  Mix with the kale.  Combine with the roasted carrots.  Add the polenta fries.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Combine until everything is well distributed.  


Love all the color in this salad!  It is flavorful and just packed with so much nutrition.  Are you a fan of polenta?  It is rich in complex carbs which means that your body does not process it quickly so it helps mantain your blood glucose levels.  It also contains essential vitamins and minerals and is low in calories.  


Funny side on the carrots.  I bought the colored carrot pack at Trader Joe's thinking my kids would just fall for the purple and yellow carrots.  Who wouldn't, right?  It didn't work.  I figured it would be fun to roast them but that just made things worse.  Apparently roasted carrots are not their thing either.  It is so hard to get them to eat their veggies!

The crispy polenta fries are definitely worth a repeat.  It's like a gluten-free version of a crouton.  

Enjoy this super easy and flavorful salad!  Take a photo and share on Instagram using #peoniesandalatte to show us your creations.

Thank you for reading this post!

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