Fennel and Apple Salad with Kale

This summer I have been eating a lot more fresh produce and trying out some raw vegan recipes. I admit I was inspired by these raw vegan women who I came across on YouTube (Raw Alignment, Dr. Elizabeth, and Laura Miller). They absolutely glow, so I thought I would give eating raw a go - just to see how I felt. I am about a week in, and feeling fantastic! I thought I would be ravenous, which I haven't been at all. I thought I would crave, crave, crave all the vegan junk food, which I have a little, but it has been very manageable. I don't know that I am permanently changing my diet, but right now I am loving the lightness and energy from the raw foods I am trying and am going to see where it goes.

Of course, with just getting started I am in a learning curve here of what to eat. I have had a couple of fails (tried to make my own Sunbutter - which did not turn creamy at all, and there was a soaked buckwheat disaster as well) but this salad was one of the highlights so far. The avocado makes it work and ties everything together. The combination of the green apple and fennel with a perfectly ripe avocado is just so so good.

Fennel and Apple Salad with Kale

Ingredients:

1 green apple, cored and sliced into thin pieces (try to mimic the size of the fennel slices)
2 tsp lemon juice

1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
A few fennel fronds, sliced
1 bunch kale, washed, stemmed and cut into thin ribbons
2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 tsp oil (olive or grapeseed)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp light vinegar (rice wine, white, or champagne)
Salt and pepper to taste

1 avocado, peeled and diced
handful of raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Directions:

Wash and core the apple and then slice it into thin pieces. Try cutting it into fourths and then slice those pieces into bite sized slivers. Toss the apples with the lemon juice (the prevents the apples from browning).

Slice a fennel bulb into thin pieces and put them in a large salad bowl. Add the sliced kale and shredded carrots. (If you don't like tough kale, you take take a few minutes to really massage the leaves - this helps them wilt.) Toss the apples in as well.

Pour on the dressing ingredients (oil, dijon, vinegar, salt and pepper) and mix well to coat the salad. Add the diced avocado and pumpkin seeds right before you serve the salad.