When I’m hungry for something satisfying, hearty, healthy yet quick and easy to make, I raid my
kitchen for interesting leftovers and fresh ingredients and “voila!” magic usually happens in the form
of a taste-bud-tingling-super-salad!
Today my refrigerator search turned up a few promising flavors to create with:
*leftover roasted sweet potatoes–yum!
*leftover cooked quinoa
*leftover cooked chickpeas
*organic kale, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes fresh from my local farmer’s market
*ripe avocados
Awesome!
Everything I need to make a sweet and savory salad.
So, let’s get started…
Sweet Potato Kale Quinoa Salad w/
Creamy Coconut Curry Dressing
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
Salad
1 small bunch organic kale
1 organic cucumber
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
1 cup Roasted sweet potato chunks
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked chickpeas, preferably–or you can use organic canned chickpeas
in BPA free cans
Dressing
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/4 cup soaked cashews
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)
1/4 avocado
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon organic mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
A dash of kelp powder
A dash of dulse powder
A dash of cayenne pepper
Directions:
Make your creamy coconut curry dressing by adding all of the dressing
ingredients above to your blender and blending on high for a few seconds until smooth.
Taste, and adjust liquid and seasoning as needed.
Pour the dressing into a dressing carafe or jar.
Set the dressing aside until the salad is completed.
Wash and drain the kale.
Tear into small pieces and place in a large glass or stainless steel bowl.
Sprinkle cooked quinoa on the kale.
Pour some of the dressing on the kale and quinoa.
Massage the kale and quinoa well with the dressing to soften and flavor the kale.
Place a plate on top of the kale.
Set the kale aside to soak up the dressing.
Next…
Wash, then cut cucumber into chunks.
Wash, then slice cherry tomatoes into halves.
Wash, peel and extract avocado from shell.
Retrieve your leftover sweet potatoes and chickpeas from the refrigerator.
Place massaged kale and quinoa combination into individual serving bowls.
Arrange remaining salad ingredients in small groupings on top of the kale.
Add a small pile of tomatoes, then cucumbers around the edges of the kale.
Continue by adding chunks of roasted sweet potatoes, then chickpeas.
Place a sliced avocado half in the center.
Shake the dressing, then pour it over each salad.
Sweet, savory, crunchy, creamy, spicy!
The blend of tastes and textures in each mouthful is absolutely delicious!
Enjoy!
Do you use leftovers to create healthy, hearty salads?
What are some of your favorite salad combinations?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.
“This post was FEATURED ON Natural Living Monday”
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Yum! I was doing meatless Mondays but kind of fell off. This looks so delicious and easy to make. I want to try it! Thank you for inspiring me and sharing.
Hi Rachee,
I am so delighted that you like this salad! With the sweetness of the roasted potatoes it does kind of melt in your mouth! Thank you so much for sharing your comments with me. I appreciate it.
Yum! Sounds so interesting and delicious! I’m pinning this for later! Thanks
Hi Wendy,
Thank you so much for pinning this post! I’m so glad you liked it! All the best, Deborah
Coconut curry….mmmmm! Thanks for sharing!
This contains every one of my favourite food groups in one bowl. Delicious and an excellent share 🙂
I am so glad you like this! It is one of my favorite salads! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
I’m a boring salad eater – basic greens, tomatoes and cucumbers for me. I like it that way. I might add some feta though. #wowlinkup
wow they look fantabulous…..just love salads and using coconut cream in salad sounds different .
Hi Chitra,
I love to make rich, creamy, non-dairy dressings for some of my salads. It really takes the flavor up a notch. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it.
My mouth is watering! This is being pinned for a dinner in the very near future 🙂
Hi Deb,
Great recipe as usual. I love sweet potatoes in any recipe. I probably leave out the cayenne pepper – I just don’t like anything that is even a little hot or spicy. Will share on Pinterest & twitter. Thanks so much for sharing on Real Food Fridays Blog Hop.
Hi Deb,
Just wanted to let you know that I have chosen your post as one of my features on this weeks Real Food Fridays Blog Hop that will be live tomorrow @7 pm EST. Thanks for sharing and being part of Real Food Fridays Blog Hop. Marla
This salad looks amazing! Avo + sweet potato is always a winning combination, in my eyes. As for making salads out of leftovers… Yes. I do it all the time. I love throwing the most random ingredients together and calling them kitchen sink salads!
My favourite kind of salad! Leftover foods seem to make great salad ingredients, and you can never go wrong with roasted sweet potato, it’s the most naturally delicious vegetable and so versatile. Ever since I went vegan I have discovered the endless possibilities of scrumptious food combinations and I can almost taste this mixture just looking at the photos and reading the recipe. This coconut curry dressing sounds divine, I will definitely be trying this one out soon, thank you.
I am so glad you like this salad! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it!
Hi Deb,
I love sweet potato and the coconut curry sounds wonderful. thanks for sharing. Have a healthy happy day. Pinned.
Hi Marla,
I am so delighted that you like that combination. It turned out to be one of my favorite salads.
Thanks Deborah for the great Sweet Potato, Kale, and Quinoa Salad. It looks luscious and nutritious. I saw it on the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Blog Hop #45 and so glad it did. Guess what we’re having for dinner tonight? Nancy Andres, Health & Lifestyle Writer, Author, and Blogger.
Wow! This looks so great! I’m on a total quinoa kick right now! I’m so making this!