Kale, Sunflower Sprout and Pepita Salad

I get on these salad kicks where I'll eat the same salad everyday for like a month or so.  I went through my tabbouleh salad stage, my mixed salad stage and now I can't get enough of this kale salad and it's so simple to make. 

I first tasted this salad last year at New Leaf Community Market in Half Moon Bay and knew that I had to make my own version.  You can change up the ingredients and add whatever type of sprouts, nuts/seeds or vinaigrette you like, but I love it just the way it is.  If you want the salad to be raw then don't toast the pumpkin seeds and use Nama Shoyu instead of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  But the Bragg's gives it a really unique flavor and a little goes a long way!

There really is no recipe to this salad.  I just used raw dino/lacinato green kale and chopped it into small pieces, thinly sliced red onion, sunflower sprouts, toasted pumpkin seeds, the juice of 1 lemon, a couple splashes of Bragg Liquid Aminos, a slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Just a tip...to toast the pumpkin seeds, I always get the pan really hot first, remove it from the heat, add my pumpkin seeds and keep tossing them until they are golden brown.  I then drizzle in a 1/2 tsp olive oil, sea salt, stir to combine and let them cool completely on a plate.  Most people start with a cool pan and then toast their seeds over low heat.  This takes too long and so I always get distracted doing something else and end up burning the entire batch...live and learn.

Also, I purchase my sprouts from Whole Foods from a company called New Native, but I plan to start sprouting my own seeds and using them in my salads and sandwiches.