Summer Kale Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

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Man, it is seriously steamy in Boston right now. Humidity has been hovering around 90%, my hair is in full-out rebellion, and the little makeup I was wearing yesterday all but melted off my face. Thank goodness I skipped the mascara, because there’s no way I wouldn’t have been walking around with it caked under my eyes looking like a racoon. I don’t know how women in places like Florida manage to look put together with the heat and humidity, but I’m guessing economy-sized bottles of hairspray are involved.

Despite the soupy weather, Aaron and I decided we would take our stir-crazy dogs on a long walk on Saturday, right around lunchtime. Not only was this kind of a dumb idea from a temperature standpoint, but I also didn’t bring any water and hadn’t eaten in almost four hours. Crappy planning on my part meant that halfway into our walk, I started to get that ravenous, shaky feeling and have a meltdown. Anyone know what I’m talking about? It’s like that point little kids hit where they can’t control their emotions and throw a fit…except I’m twenty-eight.

Fortunately, we were right near a bench and a little indie bakery. The dogs and I collapsed on the bench (Honey actually sitting on it because she thinks she’s a person) and Aaron went inside to get us a snack and some water. He returned with some sort of cinnamon roll, which without thinking, I devoured. It was definitely not vegan, gluten-free, or anything except empty calories. And about thirty minutes later, I paid the price with stomach cramps that lasted for the rest of the day.

It was a reminder that I need to do a better job with my meal planning (which I tend to get more lax about on the weekends) and carry a snack with me for situations where there aren’t good food options available. A significant part of the reason I eat a vegan diet is health-related, but a large part is also ethical for me – I don’t feel well when I eat animal products, physically or emotionally.

I’m not sure if it was the eggs, butter, gluten, or all of the above that made me sick, but all I wanted for the rest of the weekend were big salads and coconut water. Well, I always want coconut water.

This salad was inspired by one of my favorites – a simple kale, avocado and grapefruit salad that was on weekly rotation this past Spring. I traded the grapefruit for summer strawberries, added in a generous handful of raw pumpkin seeds, and swapped a lemon dressing for lime with fresh cilantro from the window box on my porch. I also used baby kale, in part because it doesn’t require any chopping or stem removal, but mostly because I find baby anything adorable.

This salad is light, slightly sweet, a little bit crunchy, and exactly what I needed to make my stomach and my heart happy. No more cinnamon rolls for me, thank you.

I’m curious to know whether I have legit food intolerances/sensitivities and what, specifically, is the problem, but the little research I’ve done about testing seems to suggest it’s not very reliable. I’m thinking I may want to try an elimination diet, although I’m not sure how I’d approach that just yet either. Any suggestions? I need to give it some more thought.

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