Gluten Free: Broccoli, Kale, and Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad

Broccoli, Kale, and Brussels Sprout Slaw Salad

 

Just before Christmas, my coworkers, boss, and I had a little potluck.

 

Everything was DELICIOUS!

 

My coworker, Jay, brought a bagged salad from Costco.  And I loved it... and I haven't stop thinking about that salad since the potluck.  It was that good! 

 

I was determined to make a version of this salad at home.  The bagged Costco salad contained broccoli (the stalks, not the florets), Brussels sprouts, kale, green cabbage, and chicory (some sort of red lettuce???).  The dressing was a sweet poppy seed dressing that reminded me of coleslaw dressing.  The bagged salad had a small pouch of roasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) and dried sweetened cranberries (Craisins).

 

I strayed a bit from the original recipe, but I am pretty happy with my version.  Since I want to make this salad up each time I have a serving (as opposed to mixing it all up ahead of time and having it wilt in the dressing), I put the individual ingredients in zip close plastic bags with a little bit of paper towel (one bag of finely sliced Brussels sprouts, one bag of finely chopped kale, and I also put the broccoli slaw in it's own bag with paper towel since I noticed there was some unwanted moisture in my broccoli slaw bag from the store). I tried to get all the ingredients as dry as possible before I bagged them up.  For this salad I used:

 

• 10 to 12 Brussels sprouts, finely sliced, stem ends removed 
• 1/2 to 3/4 bunch of organic kale, finely chopped, woody stalks removed
• 1 bag of broccoli slaw (12 ounce size), pre-washed, which includes shredded broccoli stalks, carrots, and red cabbage
• Ken's Steak House brand "Lite Poppy Seed" dressing
• Craisins (dried sweetened cranberries)
• roasted sunflower seeds (I would have preferred toasted finely sliced almonds, but I was lazy)
• optional: I added in a bit of chopped grilled chicken 

 

I don't have exact measurements for my salad. I used more broccoli slaw than anything else and a bit of kale and Brussels sprouts. I kept the salad from being soppy wet by just adding a bit of dressing until it looked coated but not drippy with dressing (like these technical cooking terms and precise measurements!? Sorry!).  I think you could use any nuts in this salad but I think finely sliced almonds which have been toasted in a dry skillet or in the oven would be the best choice.  I used the sunflower seeds since I had them on hand. I think any nuts would be good (pepitas, pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds) but I recommend toasting them first.

Enjoy!