Today I’m sharing one of my favorite new clean eating salads: Kale and Fruit Salad with a Lemon Poppy Seed Vinaigrette.
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Goodbye boring salads! When I took the first bite of this kale salad, I was like, “OH. MY. WORD.” There’s just something about the combination of kale with mandarin oranges, pineapple, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and feta cheese drizzled with that sweet and sour vinaigrette!
This healthy eating thing ain’t so bad after all. Besides, tomorrow I’m throwing down so it’s probably a good thing I’ve been eating healthy all week. 
We’re having a huge birthday party with a low country shrimp boil for one of my very best friends tomorrow. So it’s pretty safe to say I’ll be eating a ton of seafood, potatoes, sausage and corn. Oh, and hush puppies and birthday cake. And beer. 
We’re expecting around 50 friends and I can’t wait!
The temps here today are in the 70s on the coast of NC and I’ve got my windows open with a ton of fresh air circulating throughout the house. Eating this salad with all of that fresh air was the most refreshing thing I’ve experienced in a LONG TIME. I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I did! 
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons spicy mustard
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 bunch kale, washed, large stems removed and roughly chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges (no sugar added - in water), drained
- 1 (15-1/4-ounce) can pineapple chunks (in juice), drained
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup toasted chopped walnuts
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Set aside.
- Prepare salad by placing chopped kale in a large bowl. Top with remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
I grew up eating poppy seed muffins and sadly I can’t find any good versions at my nearby bakeries. So anything with poppy seed makes my little heart sing, like this Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. Mandarin Oranges are my weakness; they add a fresh burst to this salad. I can’t believe it was 70 degrees in NYC. It was 50 degrees in Northern California. What a treat 🙂
I love poppy seeds too… thanks, Mary! It was in the 70s here in North Carolina Friday and Saturday and back cold again today, we have some crazy weather this time of the year. Hope you enjoy this salad as much as I did if you make it! 🙂