Blanched Kale Salad with Pomegranate and Green Apple Dressing

Ali Segersten Dec 28, 2010 26 comments

Are you craving something light and cleansing after the holidays? Me too. This vibrant blanched kale salad offers just that…a refreshing reset for your digestive and detox systems. The combination of crisp green apple, jewel-like pomegranate seeds, and a creamy, tangy dressing feels both grounding and revitalizing.

Kale is gently blanched to soften its fibers, making it easier to digest while preserving its abundance of detox-supportive phytonutrients. Pomegranates, rich in polyphenols like punicalagins, bring potent antioxidant power—and they’re in their final weeks of the season, so enjoy them while you can!

The dressing features fresh green apple for natural sweetness and gentle tartness, blended with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh ginger, and garlic for warmth and depth. These ingredients create a vibrant, creamy dressing with subtle spice and brightness—no lemon or vinegar needed. I blend everything together in my Vitamix until silky smooth—it’s quick, light, and energizing.

You can prepare the kale and dressing ahead of time for easy weekday lunches. Toss in leftover wild salmon for extra omega-3s and protein, or keep it fully plant-based. Toasted sunflower seeds add a nutty crunch and a boost of zinc for immune support.

This salad also fits beautifully into Phase 2 of the Elimination Diet, offering a nourishing meal that supports gut healing and liver detox pathways. It’s simple, beautiful, and full of the kind of nourishment that helps you come back to center.

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About the Author

Alissa Segersten, MS, CN

Alissa Segersten, MS, CN, is the founder of Nourishing Meals®, an online meal-planning membership with over 1,800 nourishing recipes and tools to support dietary change and better health. As a functional nutritionist, professional recipe developer, and author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Nourishing Meals, and co-author of The Elimination Diet, she helps people overcome health challenges through food. A mother of five, Alissa understands the importance of creating nutrient-dense meals for the whole family. Rooted in science and deep nourishment, her work makes healthy eating accessible, empowering thousands to transform their well-being through food.

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Comments

Looks wonderful! I recently went to the Bastyr Clinic for Natural Health and was given the IGG/IGE allergy test. Your site is going to help me so much. I started a blog dedicated to a healthy life with out gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, and some other allergies I have. I can't wait to get your book!
http://www.cookinkkitchen.blogspot.com/

What a great salad! I could eat a huge bowl of this. Thanks for sharing!

I tried this today with swiss chard.
Beautiful!! I made it as my study meal and it worked wonders for my brain!!
Thanks for the recipe!

Love love love this dressing! I made it last night and had it over plain shredded raw kale and it was SO GOOD. Creamy, tart, definitely hit the spot, especially during the Elimination Diet. I'm happy it made a lot of dressing, I can't wait to try it over other foods - maybe some brown rice, mmmmmm

Had this for dinner tonight and it was so tasty! Thanks for a great recipe.

I'm finding more and more kale recipes lately, I think this month I'm going to become real familiar with it! Looks yummy

I ended up substituting dried cranberries for the unavailable pomegranate and pumpkin seeds for the sunflower seeds. It was so delicious and I will certainly be making it again. Thank you so much for the recipe!

This was really good! I had to use dinosaur kale because the regular curly kind didn't look so hot at my farmers market, and i threw in some mint leaves and thinly sliced radishes just for fun too. Thanks for a great salad recipe!

Can't wait to try that dressing, it sounds delicious!

I only have one word to describe this salad....yummy :)

Tom and Ali, I'm hosting Aubree Cherie's Tuesday Top Ten this week. I just wanted to let you know that I selected this recipe as one of my favorites. I made it last week and loved it! http://www.glutenfreecat.com/?p=1918

Heather
www.glutenfreecat.com

Amy, try Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton...it has a whole section on feeding baby, and her recipes are all dairy/egg free and many are also gluten free. Plus, my kids have loved every oned of her recipes!
Hope that helps!
Kirsti

Definitely in the mood for a detoxing salad, thanks for this! I just love the colours, my mum always said the more colours the better (excluding candy ofcourse)... Love the combination of kale and fruits, sounds delicious! GReat recipe. And not always a fan of raw so I like the idea of blanching it.

Teenie Foodie

Hi everyone, looking for some support. I am a first time mom of a 12 month old daughter and have been using Ali's book to prepare her food but I am finding I'm running out of inspiration. Does anyone have any ideas, or cookbooks or websites I can go for gluten free/dairy/egg/meat free cooking?

Ali, any thoughts in writing a cookbook for feeding children 6 months +?? :)

This might sound crazy to some. It would've sounded crazy to me before I discovered kale. Now, I can't get enough of it. And when you combine it with the sweetness of the pomegranate seeds, well, it's gotta be a winning combination. Can't wait to try it Ali!

So creative Ali! I hadn't thought to put pomegranate arils on salad, but it does seem like an obvious combo now that I look at it.

Yep, time for some detox!

Delicious! It's definitely that time of year again...time to cut out the sweets and start chopping the veggies.

Awesome salad. Thank you! Okay, you said your kids go through 1 to 2 pomegranates EACH day! Woohoo! You MUST have a trick to getting those arils out in a hurry. I love pomegranates, but I cannot imagine preparing 1 (let alone 2) every single morning. Please let me know your secret technique!

Thanks!
Barbara

Tomorrow will be my Day 3 of the elimination diet. I cannot wait to make this!! :)
Thank you.

I just made your salad and dressing for lunch today. I needed some pure goodness after all of the holiday treats I've enjoyed. LOVED this salad! And I have lots of dressing left over. I look forward to finding some fun ways to use it. Thanks!

This looks fabulous! I can't wait to try it. By the way, I am a HUGE fan of your apple dressing - We love it on coleslaw.

Beautiful salad! I am on a huge kale kick and will add this to the "must try" list. :) Thank you for sharing!

xoxo,
Sunny

I love raw kale salads but this time of year it starts getting a little too tough even for me so I usually steam it for a couple minutes. I need to try your blanching approach and the green apple dressing!

Wow! I want a HUGE plateful of this! It looks so Healthy and Delicious!!!!!! This will definitely be on my plate by tonight! What a great recipe, Ali!!

What a great salad, Ali! Yep, I'm needing salads about now. Love the idea of blanching the kale and having it ready to go. :-)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying getting ready for the new year!

xo,
Shirley

green apple dressing...how cool!

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