I love salad. Salad is filling, quick to throw together, super healthy, and delicious. In the wake of the latest romaine recall, though, I had to shake up my salad status quo. I experimented with a few different variants of salads, and my self-named Sweet and Savory Kale Salad was one of my favorites. Even though romaine lettuce is now safe to eat again, this kale-based salad has really stolen my heart.

Sweet and Savory Kale Salad

Ingredients for 1 serving:
– 3 oz. Chicken Breast
– 1-2 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette (to taste)
– .5 cup Cubed Sweet Potato
– .25 cup Golden Raisins
– .25 cup (or less) Goat Cheese Crumbles
– 2.5 cups Kale

Once you have all the ingredients, there’s a small amount of prep work involved. Also of note, if you want a cold salad, perform steps 1-5 the day before and allow to chill overnight.

1. Dice or cube .5 cup’s worth of Sweet Potato. You can either wash and cut up a raw sweet potato, or buy pre-“cleaned and cut” cubes for convenience.
2. Add cubed sweet potato chunks to a small, microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with a vented lid or white (non-patterned) paper towel and microwave for 1 minute or until potato is soft.
3. Place sweet potato cubes in the refrigerator to cool.
4. Grill the chicken breast until fully cooked. Alternatively, you can bake the chicken breast in a broiler pan. Make sure the oven is preheated to 400 degrees F and bake for 10-15 minutes until center is fully cooked.
5. After chicken breast has cooled slightly, cube or shred the chicken. You may want to cool the chicken in the refrigerator but it is not necessary.
6. Add cleaned kale to a large mixing bowl with goat cheese, raisins, sweet potato, chicken, and dressing. Toss the salad so it is well mixed.
7. Transfer to bowl or deep dish and enjoy!

This meal is pretty moderate in calories, and is very nutritionally well rounded. It packs a punch with protein and serves up a lot of vitamins too!

Per-Serving Nutrition (approximate)¹: 522 calories, 35g protein, 53g carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 7g fat, 5g saturated fat, 85mg cholesterol, 441mg sodium, 292% Vitamin A, 181% Vitamin C

In addition to being part of this tasty dish, kale has a ton of other great health benefits! It’s actually considered a superfood by some dietitians because of its healthful properties. For example, kale contains fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that can help aid in the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.²

Have you tried this salad yet? Let me know if you have any comments, tips, tweaks or other recipes that you would recommend!

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¹ MyFitnessPal: Nutrition Calculator for Sweet and Savory Salad
² Medical News Today: “What are the health benefits of kale?”