The theme of this week is getting back to vegetables. And boy, does it feel good.

I don’t know what it was, but for a while I was struggling with this. Dave’s been traveling a lot for work, before that I had been traveling a lot for work, and instead of coming home and cooking a decent meal when I’m home alone, my mind kept going straight to junk food. Plus, making veggies takes a little more work. I wasn’t putting it in at the time.

But this week I think I seem to have found my vegetable balance again. I’ve been eating bunches of kale and cups of sweet potatoes, dressed with runny eggs or yogurt. Tonight I roasted about 3 lbs. of beets, which will make an amazing lunch tomorrow. And last weekend, we feasted on grilled spring vegetables and this amazing strawberry kale salad:

I’m so happy with how it turned out. You never really know if something like adding white beans is actually going to work until you try it (and it worked!)

I also think having fruit be back – that really makes a difference. When I can look forward to using great strawberries, I am way more likely to pair them with other veggies.

I’ll admit that tonight, I didn’t have vegetables for dinner. I had pizza, cheese and cured meats. My brain was fried. The pizza was glorious (and it was NOT fancy pants, local, organic or anything else pizza). But that was one out of my last several, and there’s been so much more green, so much more seasonality and not to mention, so much more vitamins and fiber in my diet. I feel like the balance is tipped in the right direction. And that’s what matters, right?

Ingredients

Here’s what you need:
3 cups of finely chopped and massaged kale
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup cooked white beans
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
2 oz. excellent quality blue cheese
1 Tbsp. excellent quality olive oil
1 tsp. champagne or white wine vinegar
Heavy pinch kosher salt

Instructions

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan or a toaster oven until fragrant.

In a mixing bowl, toss all ingredients while drizzling with olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt.