Strawberry & Sunflower Seed Kale Salad

"Saying Goodbye to Strawberry Season"

Yesterday my mom stopped by to see me at the farm I just started working at to do some strawberry picking (see picture below). Strawberry picking is best at the beginning of June, so I am glad she came when she did since June is already more than halfway through! The strawberries were organically grown and they were a lot smaller and tastier than the ones you buy at your average food store. When I got home from work, I thought about what to make with the strawberries...and since I am on a kale kick I did not have to think for long. I decided to make a strawberry & sunflower seed kale salad WITH a homemade strawberry vinaigrette (are you drooling yet?).

So I looked up how to make a strawberry vinaigrette on Pinterest, my favorite food recipe resource, and I tweaked the one I found to the one I've listed below. 

Strawberry Vinaigrette:

-1 cup of local, organically farmed strawberries washed and with their stems removed (PLEASE support local farms so that they can stay in business and the prices of healthier-grown fruits can go down!)

-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

-2 tsp raw, organic honey (if you haven't had raw organic honey you've got to try it! The texture is thick and awesome)

-1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Use a bullet or blender to combine all of the above ingredients. Taste the dressing and add more balsamic vinegar and/or honey if necessary and pulse again. 

Strawberry & Sunflower Seed Kale Salad:

-homemade strawberry vinaigrette 

-1 handful of sunflower seeds

-1/2 a handful (about 1/4 cup) of chia seeds (these expand in your tummy to make you fuller quicker and aid in digestion!)

-1 bag of kale (I like packaged kale from Trader Joe's, but again, buy a local bunch of kale if you can! I know of a farm stand that sells 2 heads for $3 some days!)

-optional: goat cheese or feta cheese to taste (I recommend adding the cheese once you are about to eat the salad and only to the bowl of salad you will be eating in that sitting...softer cheeses don't do too well sitting in the kale & dressing for long)

Directions: Mix all of the above ingredients in a large bowl or container, cover, and let sit in the fridge for a few hours before indulging. Like I said in my Italian Kale Salad post--kale gets yummier the longer it sits in dressing in your fridge--so enjoy this for 3-4 days. Add the cheese if you'd like, right before eating some of the salad. Happy eating!

This recipe is REALLY easy, healthy, yummy, and takes under 30 minutes to prep! It's refreshing to eat in the hot summer months...so if a local farm no longer carries strawberries in say, August, do the best you can and buy organic ones from the supermarket! I'd imagine this recipe would also be awesome if you substituted raspberries (which are in season in July).

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment :)