Happy National Kale Day! Ok, so the celebration may be a bit premature since it's not officially a holiday yet. But some quality people are proposing it as one. How do you even propose to create a national holiday anyway? And who's on the board who decides which pass? (And also, who's on the Merriam-Webster board deciding what's "a word" and what's not? These are conversations I want to hear.)

Not that I need an excuse to eat kale, but I'll take it. And in honor of this great day, I've finally decided to document my kale salad recipe. A lot of my friends have asked for it, and I kind of just mumble through how I make it while actually making it for them, but I've never actually written it down. They also ask me how/why I eat this every other day of the week. But oh you'll see why. It's super tasty, wholesome and slyly nutritious. And there are a lot of ways to jazz it up, too. Even if you don't like kale, don't really "get" it or don't know what it is or have any other cognitive disconnect as to why this shouldn't be in your weekly -- if not daily -- diet, just try it.

INGREDIENTS (enormous single serving or two normal-appetited-people servings):

2 leaves of kale (green, red, or dino -- s'all good)
3-4 tbs nutritional yeast
tuft of sprouts (I used clover, but alfalfa, broccoli or any other kind is fine, too)
2 tbs dried cranberries
1/3 c cubed seared tempeh (see sauce recipe below)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs raw flaxseeds
1 tbs raw hemp seeds
1 tbs raw sunflower seeds
1 tbs raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
couple of avocado slices
salt+pepper to taste

OPTIONAL STUFF

1/4 c raw shredded beet
sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese
tofu instead of tempeh

THE SAUCE (i highly recommend this as your go-to sautee)

Stir this all up together:
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs chinese vinegar (brand: chinkiang. looks like this)
1 tsp sesame oil
drizzle of honey
drizzle of sriracha
pinch of red pepper flakes

Some cool factoids about all these seeds:

Flax: rich in omega-3s, protein and antioxidants

Chia: satiating, also rich in omega-3s, protein and antioxidants

Sunflower: vitamin E and magnesium

Pumpkin: produce serotonin (ie makes you happy!), protein rich

Hemp: lotta protein, all 9 essential amino acids

Ok, so to actually make the salad:

1. Start off with the prepping the tempeh and get that searing. Cut tempeh into 1 inch squares -- not too thick, but about half the width of a typical tempeh block.

2. In a frying pan, sizzle garlic in a little olive oil while you mix and marinate the tempeh in the sauce.

3. Toss the tempeh into the pan and sear 'em on both sides. While you're waiting for them to cook you can throw together the salad.

4. Before washing the kale leaves, cut into strips. They don't have to be very thin or anything, just whatever's a manageable size to eat.

5. In a colander, wash the kale as you massage it. Yes, massage the kale. Really well, like get some deep tissue shiatsu massage up in there. This is important to soften up the kale and make it more benevolent since raw kale can be tough.

6. In a large bowl, mix all salad ingredients (including olive oil) except the avocado. Best way to do this is to just get dirty and use your hands. Make sure they're clean, but yeah, go ahead and really mix it well with your hands.

7. [don't forget you've got that tempeh on the stove still!]

8. Put your salad in a cool bowl and dot it with the tempeh and those avocado slices.

And that's the kale salad I eat like errday. You have been enlightened and you're welcome.