This will be the first week in over a month that I will sleep in my own bed for more than five days in a row.  I have been to the west coast, to the east coast, and then immediately spent the weekend away in New Orleans.  My body is completely out of whack from not eating the right foods and not drinking enough water over the past month.  This week I have been on a mission to nourish and be kind to my body because it is SO not used to the mistreatment.  That's why my kale, grapefruit, and pepita salad has been the perfect lunch addition to my meal planning this week!

I've been drinking lemon water by the gallon and almost passed out from working out yesterday since I haven't been regularly doing that either...oops.  And yeah, why does it take so long to get in shape and so little time to get out of shape?  And then there are the cookies that are torturing me on my social media news feed from all of my favorite bloggers and I'm all like "veggies, lemon water, detox, you can do this Leigh Ann."

Luckily before we went to New Orleans over the weekend, we made it to the farmer's market and I snagged some veggies and meats for the week setting me up for success when we arrived home Sunday night.  This salad is gorgeous, full of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and lots of other good for you minerals and vitamins!  It's the perfect salad to help me start feeling great again!

I love it as a light lunch, but it would pair perfectly with a nice piece of fish for dinner as well.  If you aren't a fan of grapefruits, you could do the same thing with oranges.  Citrus is in season right now and I can't get enough, so no matter what your preference, this salad will be one of your new healthy favorites.  And honestly it's just as delicious as it is healthy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Bundles of Fresh Kale, Washed and stems removed 
• 2 Grapefruits 
• 1/4 Cup Pepita Seeds
• 1/4 Sliced Red Onion
• 1/2 Sliced Avocado
• Juice from 1/2 Fresh Lemon
• 1 Tbsp. Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp. Kosher or Sea Salt
• 1 Tsp. Pepper

Directions:

• Take your grapefruits, and slice each end off to create a sturdy surface.  With a sharp knife follow the membrane around the grapefruit slicing off the white parts.  Go in between each segment making a slice on each side to release each piece of grapefruit. Do this over a bowl so that you can save your juices for your vinaigrette.
• Remove grapefruit segments from the liquid.
• Squeeze in lemon juice into the grapefruit juice and whisk honey and olive oil in along with salt and pepper until well combined.
• Massage a couple of tablespoons at a time of the vinaigrette into the kale leaves until they are tender.
• Add slices of grapefruit, sliced red onion, avocado, and pepita seeds on top of the kale.
• Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper to taste and drizzle more vinaigrette if desired.
• Serve immediately, will serve 4.  

And then maybe we can eat a cookie and not feel so bad about it...