Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

Written by Becky

I’ve been spending most of my days as of late, with my cute little guy. As he sits, sleeps, or eats in my arms I do sneek in some time to fumble through cookbooks and magazines.  I flipped through Heidi Larsen’s Super Natural Everyday Cookbook and found a little treasure, Kale and Coconut Salad. We’ve now made the recipe a few times, adding chicken for some extra protein, and changing it only a tad!  This is a great summer picnic recipe, perfect for lunch or a light dinner.

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

As a new mom, I’m trying my best to be conscious of my sweet time with Everett. Though I definitely do look through cookbooks and social media from time to time, I really hope to be fully present with him instead of always being distracted by social media or work related things.  This is super hard for someone whose job revolves around the online world but I am trying. When he’s awake I try and talk to him or play with him, which mainly consists of him wiggling and me giggling.  When he’s asleep sometimes I hold him and just enjoy the preciousness of the moment and other times, I lay him beside me while I get some work done.  During feeding times (which are about 7-8 times a day) I try to only be on my phone two of them, then the rest, we are just together. I read verses to him or just sit with him, taking in all of his ever changing features, noises, and movements.

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe • theVintageMixer.com

My friend Carrian and I were talking recently about having balance as a blogger and a mom.  Blogging really is a beautiful job for a mom, giving that I am able to make money and stay at home but it can also be a huge distraction. There is always more work you can do and having a smart phone makes it so easy to work all the time.  Another blogging friend, Heather, says she tries to get most of her work done at the beginning of the week, other bloggers work only during nap times… many of us struggle with this.  If you’re a blogger and say at home mom, how do you keep balance?  Or if you’re a parent who works outside of the home, what things do you do to be fully present when you are at home with your kids?  Any tips, stories, schedules are appreciated!

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

An easy weeknight meal like this one is helpful when you’re trying give give most of your attention to kids or in my case, a new baby!

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

Kale and Coconut Chicken Salad Recipe

An easy Kale Salad recipe incorporating coconut, chicken, and asian flavors. Recipe adapted from the Supernatural Everyday cookbook.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil, the dark sesame oil has the best flavor
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or Tamari for gluten free
  • 5 cups kale, packed (about 1 big bundle), stems removed and town into large pieces
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
  • 1 cup farro* uncooked (2 cups cooked)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Toss kale and coconut with the 3/4 of the sauce.
  • Lay out the kale and coconut on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes, flipping the kale once during baking.
  • Meanwhile cook farro in a large pot of boiling water (should take about 20-25 minutes for it to get chewy). Remove from heat and drain.
  • Mix the kale and coconut in with the chicken, and faro, then drizzle additional sauce on top.

Notes

You can substitute rice or quinoa for the farro or just remove the grain all together for a pure kale and chicken salad.

Comments (15)

  1. I have all the ingredients for this dish! I just love when that happens.

    Balance. Ah, balance. One of the biggest things I try to do (and I’m not perfect at it) is unplugging as much as possible on the weekends. Not really a specific tip for moms but just great for everyone. I’m really trying to live in the moment.

    Great post today.

    • Becky, that is soo great that you try and take the weekends completely off. I need to put down the camera during weekend meal times more often 🙂

  2. Balance and how to be fully present? I think that I’ve learned that it’s an impossible dream. 🙂 My twin ladies are almost two, and there is no way that I can be with them all the time, or remember every little thing about them.

    Fortunately, over the past two years I’ve discovered that the Universe has a way of bringing your rapt attention to things when they’re small but important. So even though I have no clue what outfits my ladies are wearing today, I have no problem remembering that when they were infants their breath smelled like fresh, sweet cilantro to me. Or that Vanessa would open her mouth bigger than any infant should be able to when she stretched and leaned back. Or that Diana likes to have the palm of her hands kissed. 🙂

    So, you do work when you need to, and try do things as best you can, but pay attention for the magic of the world saying “Hey! Quick! Check this out!”

    • Sara, what a sweet reminder! Thanks for the healthy perspective. I’m keeping my eyes open for Everett’s little nuances today – thank you 🙂

  3. Loved this salad so much! I’ve been waiting for you to post this so I can make it myself!

    Balance is so, so hard. I work during naptimes though sometimes that spills over if there is something that just can’t wait, like photographing a recipe. And it usually ends with me giving in to the toddler who is crying at my feet. I do try (but so often fail) to keep off my phone when he is awake, unless I’m photographing him of course.

    And it’s not just the balance of work and motherhood, but also with being a good wife too. Often I’m working too many nights to actually spend time with Steve. It’s sad. I think I need an intervention. 🙂

    • So true. I’m also trying to be off my phone more when it’s just Josh and I together. I think I want to take pictures too often and need to just soak in the moment (somehow I’ve been trained to think that taking a photo will help me soak in the moment better but that’s not true). We should both try for a couple nights a week that are just more focused on our husbands. I recently told Josh I would make him a special cocktail every Wednesday so I need to try and keep that one up 🙂

  4. Being fully present and soaking up fleeting, precious moments is such a struggle! But at the same time it is what I want, both in my relationships with my kids and in my life in general. I am always so glad to see people (other mothers, or anyone) also working through that challenge and fighting for mindfulness.

  5. Finding balance…something we’re all trying to do. One thing I’ve done that’s worked wonders for me is I’ve taken Facebook and Twitter off my phone. I try to work them into my work schedule during the morning and afternoon and do so on the computer. Not having them on my phone makes it less tempting to sneak away when I’m with the kiddos.

    And, this salad looks amazing! Anything with coconut, I’m all over!

    • Great idea Kelley! My big addiction on my phone is instagram but I’m trying to keep that to a minimum because I could check it all day – I just love looking through photos. I think I definitely need to plan my week out in advance more so I have several times when I’m just mommmy 🙂

  6. Wow. This is a great recipe and its made with stuff that I just about always have in my pantry. I recently started putting farro in all my salads, and it gives it such a good taste and texture. Glad to find another recipe to try!

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