Earlier this week I talked about how important it is to remember to include fresh vegetables into your winter diet.  In Winter Salad, I offer a traditional style slaw or salat made of brussel sprouts. The following is more of a whole meal, including smoked salmon, sharp cheddar and kale. It is fast food. It is easy food. It is healthy, and delicious, and satieting and was my favorite lunch option all this last week.

Dried cherries are full of copper, which helps your body heal damaged tissues through collagen production.  They have been shown to reduce your risk of gout and to lower inflammation.

Smoked salmon is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids and protein, making it great for your brain. Like cherries, the omega 3 fatty acids in salmon can help lower inflammation. It’s smoky, almost sweet flavor compliments the sourness of a basic vinaigrette perfectly- rounding out what may otherwise have been a boring salad.

Kale, like brussel sprouts and cabbage, is rich in vitamins C and K and helps with blood cholesterol, digestion and body alkilinity. Another great salad green for winter in the Northern hemisphere .

This salad keeps best for 2-3 days in the fridge, if made in bulk. It becomes increasingly less appetizing after that. Heads up for all you meal preppers out there. Luckily, it is such an easy throw together that you could have all disparate parts ready to go and easily assemble it at work from your lunch bag.

Kale and Salmon Salad

(Enough for 3 days)

Ingredients

1 bag of sliced kale salad mix or 2 bundles of kale, sliced chiffonade style (that is, rolled into a bundle and sliced into very thin strips)

1/2 cup dried unsweetened cherries

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

Toppings

Smoked Salmon

Extra sharp cheddar (Oscar Wilde is good)

Raw  pumpkin seeds

Method

Prepare your greens, rinsing, rolling and slicing them if working from bundles.

Mix apple cider vinegar, oil and salt. This is your salad dressing.

Toss dried cherries with kale and salad dressing. From here you can store it in the gridge in a big tupperware container for max 3 days.

Before serving, crumble your desired amount of cheddar, salmon and pumpkin seeds into the salad and mix thotoughly.

Alternative method

Portion kale into Nancy’s yogurt containers. Portion out cherries, pumpkin seeds, cheese and salmon.

Pour vinnaigrette into small jars or sealable tupperware containers.

At lunch, dump everything into a yogurt container and shake it up. Devour a fresh tossed salad.