Healthier No-Bake Cookies

This time of year is always a bit hard for me.  I love the holiday
season and all the excitement that comes swirling around with it.  New Year’s
often leaves me feeling a little down and deflated.  I had a conversation
with my mom about these very feelings and wondered why I often feel like this and
why I don't look at the beginning of the year in a different light. 
Instead of feeling sad that the holiday season is over, maybe I should
look at this time of year as time for renewal and becoming a better version of
myself.  I'm not the best goal setter and that possibly might be because
I'm not the best goal achiever.  Maybe the expectation of the New Year and
achieving great things adds to my deflated feeling.  Maybe this year
instead of great, big expectations and dreams, maybe it's about taking
baby steps towards the better version of me.  Maybe instead of doing the
things that are good and better, making a choice each day to do the things that
are the very best and most important.  Maybe some days it will be easier
to make that choice and I will make great strides towards that better me and
maybe some days it will be harder and I'll make small skips
like choosing to eat a kale salad for lunch (and loving every single
bite), but hopefully either way I'll keep moving forward.





Just a side note:  I told my husband a few days ago that I was craving
a kale salad.  He seemed to think that the words crave and kale don't go
together as well as maybe crave and potato chips.  I guess I see his
point, but this so called craving came back in full force after I had
eaten my weight in Chex muddy buddies on New Year’s Eve.

 



Kale, Orange and Feta Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing





1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and leaves shredded of finely chopped



1 avocado, thinly sliced



1 pomegranate, arils removed



3 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds



5 radishes, thinly sliced



Handful fresh cilantro, chopped



1/3 cup crumbled feta



1/4 cup pepitas, toasted





Honey-Lime Dressing





3 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 2 small limes)



3 tablespoons olive oil



1 medium jalapeno, membranes and seeds removes, minced



2 teaspoons honey



1 teaspoon Dijon mustard



1/4 teaspoon chili powder



1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt





Dressing:  Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl or place ingredients
in a small glass jar with a lid and give it a good shake.  Set aside.





Place shredded kale in a large salad bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of
salt and massaged the leaves with your hands until the leaves are darker in
color and fragrant.





Drizzle salad dressing over the kale (you may not need all of the dressing)
and toss well to lightly coat the kale.  Add the avocado, pomegranate,
oranges, radishes, cilantro, feta and pepitas to the bowl.  Toss the
salad gently to combine and serve.





Adapted ever so slightly from Cookie
+ Kate.