Chopped Thai Salad with Honey Garlic Dressing

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup canola, vegetable, avocado or other neutral-flavored oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey (I used two tablespoons.)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste) (I used 2 drops of Ginger essential oil.)
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used 3 drops Lime essential oil.)

Salad:

• 4 cups chopped kale or baby kale (about 4 ounces)
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 4-5 ounces)
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced small*
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro*
• 1 to 2 green onions, white and green parts chopped*
• 3/4 cup roasted cashews 
• 1 to 2 cups frozen, shelled edamame (fully cooked), thawed and patted dry
  * = see step 2 for instructions 
• (I added some chopped rotisserie chicken to make this a meal!)

Instructions:

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In a serving bowl, add the chopped kale.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to lightly coat the kale and massage, massage, massage until softened!!  Following, add romaine.  (I made the veggie prepping process super easy by throwing a heaping handful of baby carrots, cilantro, green onions, and edamame into a food processor.  Pulse until chunky.)  Add carrots, cilantro, green onions, and edamame to bowl.  Then add diced peppers. 
3. Clean out food processor, add the cashews, and pulse until coarsely chopped to desired texture. (If you don't have a food processor, you can always chop with a knife and cutting board.) Add the cashews to the salad bowl.  (If using chicken, add to bowl.)
4. Give the salad ingredients a light toss. 
5. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Add additional dressing to taste, and serve immediately. To preserve crisp leftovers, add the dressing and cashews only to individual servings instead of the whole batch so leftover salad and nuts don't get soggy.

*www.melskitchencafe.com