Summer Kale Salad (Alkaline, GF, Raw, Vegan)

I haven't had many truly alkaline dishes posted on here lately, so here is a great one!  There are tons of kale salads around, and basically you can add whatever types of vegetables you want over the top, I think these go well though. The dressing is an awesome pair with kale, so even if you don't love the combo of these veggies, try the dressing over the kale. 

The salad before all of the the ingredients being tossed

The salad tossed

Salad is served!

Serves 4-6

Summer Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale (about 4-6 cups)

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

2 small carrots, chopped or julienne sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 English cucumber (2 cups chopped halves)

1 avocado, chopped or cubed

1 & 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes

¼ cup cranberries or other dried berry (exclude to make 100% alkaline)

¼ cup raw pepitas

fresh or dried herbs, personal preference (basil, cilantro and oregano go great!)

Dressing:

1/4 cup Tahini

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1/4 cup liquid aminos

1 tbsp agave nectar (sub with 6 drops of stevia to be 100% alkaline)

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp real salt + black pepper, or to taste 

2 tbsp flaxseed

Blend all ingredients for dressing in a high powered blender. Dressing will thicken up in a few min, from the flax (intentionally). So after you blend it, if it seems thick already, you may want to add another tbs of water.

Rinse kale and tear into salad sized pieces and put into a large bowl. Marinate the kale in about half of the dressing, and make sure it gets all over the kale. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 min. If you don't have time to let it marinade, before you put the dressing on, drizzle lemon juice over the kale, making sure that it's totally coated, wait for 5 min, then toss with dressing to serve after salad ingredients have been added.

When ready to serve, add salad ingredients over the top. Toss optional.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto (Alkaline, GF, Raw, Vegan)

This is one of the BEST pesto's I've ever had. It has a buttery flavor to it, I guess it's something about the basil oil and pumpkin seeds. It makes an awesome mix to go with pasta (be it a raw version of pasta or not). It also is fabulous on a Pestocado Sandwich or just with crackers. Either way, it's simple to make and really really good to eat.

yellow squash 'noodles' tossed in  and topped with pumpkin seed pesto with sundried tomatoes and a side of Onion Flat Bread pt 2.

Makes about 3 cups

2/3 C raw pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds without the shell)
2 C packed basil
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp Real Salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 /2 C extra virgin olive oil

I recommend putting the garlic cloves into the food processor first and turn it on until basically all of them have stopped getting spun around by the blade. Then scrape down the sides and put in the basil. Pulse a few times to get a rough chop, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Some people like their pesto runnier than others, so if you like it more runny, feel free to add in more olive oil.