Fresh Quinoa, Pomegranates and Kale Salad

Isn't this salad beautiful? My favorite combination–pistachios, pomegranate, kale, and dressing. I love the combination of flavors and textures here –

velvety, crunchy, sweet, tangy, salty… 

As always, feel free to change things to your liking–toasted almonds are delish, and you could always go for baby spinach over baby kale. Can’t find pomegranates? Diced up apples or pears, or even dried cherries or cranberries would be nice.

INGREDIENTS

For the Citrus Dressing:

• Juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt and pepper

For the Salad:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1-1½ cup baby kale (more, if desired)
• ⅔ cup pomegranate arils (more or less, to taste)
• ½ cup salted pistachios

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Dressing:
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add additional honey, salt, or pepper as desired.

For the Salad:
Cook quinoa according to package directions (or see here for my easy method). Allow to cool. When quinoa has cooled, stir in baby kale, pomegranate seeds, and toss with dressing to coat. Sprinkle pistachios over salad and serve.

NOTES
If you're not eating it all at once, you can combine the quinoa, dressing, and pomegranate beforehand and store the nuts and kale separately for optimal texture. Then, combine before serving. If you want to pack it for lunch, you can combine everything but the pistachios in the morning and then just sprinkle them on top right before you eat it.

Source: One Lovely Life