Salads are my favorite lunch, but I’m not talking a piddly little side saladโI’m talking a meal-worthy salad that’s full of nutrients, protein, and, let’s not forget, flavor. This warm Asiago kale salad recipe is a satisfying lunch that’s ready in under 10 minutes. And if you take your lunch to work (yay, you!), it’s perfect for making ahead.
I haven’t talked about it a lot on the blog, but the year I turned 40, I decided that I would finally lose the weight I’d gained over three pregnancies. At my heaviest, I weighed 184 pounds. Fast forward two years, and I’ve lost 40 pounds!! I didn’t diet or count calories. My secret? Eat a lot of salad!
Salad is my lunch almost every day. Along with upping my veggie intake, it forced me to sit down and eat a real meal. But, I’ll be honest, learning to love salad took some work because the salads I made for myself were invariably sad and boring.
Salad kits were a life saver! When I discovered Taylor Farms I was sold. You get tons of greens along with tasty toppings and salad dressings. And it’s so easy!
Asiago Kale Salad Recipe
Taylor Farms has a ton of different salad kit flavors so I can eat a different one every day and avoid salad boredom. All of the ingredients are washed and ready to eat so all you have to do is open it and put it on a plate.
Asiago Kale Chopped Kit is my latest favorite. You’ll fill up on a mixture of kale, shaved Brussels sprouts and radicchio and feel satisfied when you add aged Asiago cheese, Parmesan garlic croutons and lemon garlic dressing.
Salads Don’t Have To Be Raw
This was another salad epiphany for me. Yes, salads can be warm! There’s no rule that everything has to be raw. And when temperatures are cooler, it’s comforting and satisfying to have cooked version of my daily salad.
I turned this salad kit into a one-pot meal by sauteing the greens with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. The greens cook down a lot so one salad kit makes 1-2 servings, depending on how hungry you are.
Toppings are the secret to non-boring salads. They can make or break the meal. Don’t be afraid to add different flavors and textures to your greens. I love some crunch so I add croutons to just about anything. Taylor Farms salad kits always have satisfyingly crunchy ingredients like crispy wontons for Asian flavors and tortilla strips if it’s a Southwest salad. For me, no carbs is a recipe for being hungry again in an hour.
And if shrimp isn’t your favorite protein, you can easily substitute chicken or a vegetarian option like chickpeas.
Doesn’t this look like a real meal? Ditch the wimpy salads and build a nourishing salad that’s a full meal all by itself.
Asiago Kale Salad with Peppered Shrimp and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Equipment
- Fry pan
- Two bowls
Ingredients
- 1 Taylor Farms Asiago Kale Chopped Kit
- 1 lb raw shrimp
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup kalamata olive halves๏ปฟ
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, and pepper. Place a sautรฉ pan over medium high heat. Add oil and shrimp. Sautรฉ for 2-3 minutes.
- Open the salad kit and remove the dressing and topping packages. Add the kale salad mix, sun dried tomatoes, and olives into the sautรฉ pan and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and mix in the lemon vinaigrette from the salad kit.
- Place mixture into a serving dish and top with croutons and Asiago cheese.
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