Now that summer has officially started it's time to put together a tasty yet refreshing salad for those hot summer days! Kale is a great source of Calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Fiber and it is filled with powerful Antioxidants. I created this salad one night after a long run out in scorching Florida sun. I wanted this salad to have a mix of greens, fruit, salt and nuts!

Serves 4

4 cups kale

4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

2 cups arugula

1 green pepper (chopped)

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup olive oil

dash of salt and pepper

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/4 cup raspberries

1 orange (squeezed JUICE)

Preheat: 350

Instructions:

Wrap kale in aluminum foil with lemon juice, crushed red pepper and garlic salt. Bake for 10-12 min. It should be bright green! In the bottom of a large salad bowl place the olive oil, salt & pepper, white vinegar, raspberries and half of a squeezed orange juice. Stir together (mash the raspberries into the liquid mix) and put the arugula, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds and almonds in with the dressing. Toss. Remove kale from the oven , place on top of the salad mix and squeeze the other half of your orange all over the Summer Kale Salad!

Don't forget to tweak the recipe if you want more or less of a certain ingredient. Let me know how your Summer Kale Salad turns out! Take pictures of your salad and post them on Facebook or Instagram with #zenfitness!!!