Kale Caesar Salad with Pan-Seared Shrimp

Back in 2010, I made a personal vow to focus on healthy eating (read all about it here). This was a challenge for me, the girl who considers bread, brie, and wine a square meal, so I started with small things, like packing a homemade lunch each day, instead of relying on Lean Cuisines and fast food. Slowly, I established a routine of making healthy choices whenever I was the one in control of the preparation (well, MOST of the time, anyway), which lets me enjoy eating at restaurants without worrying quite so much about all the salt and the butter and delightful carbohydrates I’m consuming.

One of my healthy eating goals for 2014 is to incorporate more kale into my diet, as part of the Kale Up campaign.  Kale is a green I’ve shied away from in the past, other than occasionally tossing a few handfuls into a nice bean soup. Kale is a very hearty green — you don’t have to worry about it going limp or getting soggy. I often find kale salads are even better when the kale has a bit of time to “marinate” in the dressing.

For more kale recipes, from salads to cookies, check out the Kale Up website.

Kale Caesar Salad with Pan-Seared Shrimp

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side

Dressing:

Adapted from Cooking Light’s Creamy Caesar Dressing

• 1/3 cup 2% nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce or Worcestershire
• 3 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Salad:

• Seasonings of choice (see note below)
• 6 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 6 cups kale, deveined & chopped
• 2 ounces Parmesan (or Romano) cheese, grated

Instructions:

Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl, whisk to combine, cover, and refrigerate.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel. In a bowl, combine shrimp, 1 tsp olive oil, and seasonings of choice. I like to use a few heavy shakes of the following: garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and Old Bay plus a little ground cayenne. Use whatever you like and have on hand.

Heat a large skillet, coated with cooking spray, over medium high heat. Once hot, add shrimp. Saute 2 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Toss kale with dressing, then top with shrimp and freshly grated cheese.

Disclaimer:  this post was sponsored by Nature’s Greens/WP Rawl.