Recipe: California Kale Cobb Salad

With artichoke hearts and avocado, this colorful and hearty kale salad will fill you up and fuel you with veggies, healthy fats and plenty of protein. To save prep time, wash and chop the kale and bake the bacon ahead of time.

For the salad:

• 4 slices turkey bacon
• 2 bunches kale
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 can (15 ounces) water­packed artichoke heart quarters, drained
• 16 ounces cooked chicken, diced

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup organic mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• Pinch of ground black or white pepper
• 4 scallions, green part sliced thin crosswise (for garnish)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. When the oven is ready, place the turkey bacon strips on the foil and bake for 9 to 10 minutes.
3. Turn the bacon and bake the other side for another 9 to 10 minutes or until crisp and brown. To facilitate crisping and browning, you can place the bacon on a wire rack while baking.
4. Remove the bacon and chop into small pieces. Set aside.
5. While the bacon is baking, wash the kale leaves, strip out the center rib and chop the leaves crosswise into thin ribbons.
6. Layer the leaves onto four dinner plates.
7. Top each salad with a quarter of the diced avocado, bacon, tomatoes, artichokes and chicken.
8. For the dressing, place all the ingredients (except the scallions) into a small bowl and whisk until creamy and smooth.
9. Sprinkle each salad with scallions and serve with 2 tablespoons of creamy dressing on the side.

Nutrition information (per serving)

Serving = about 3 1/2 cups salad, 2 tablespoons dressing

Calories: 540
Fat: 33 g
Saturated fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 130 mg
Fiber: 9 g
Protein: 38 g
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Sodium: 490 mg

— Eat Fat, Get Thin, by Mark Hyman, MD.