May 12, 2013
(last updated November 16, 2020) 
Before we get to the beautiful kale, avocado, and strawberry salad you see above, I want to wish all of my readers a happy Mother’s Day. Today, I’m thinking of mothers everywhere, both human and non-human. This holiday, no matter how joyous, always makes me reflect on the many mothers who are separated painfully from their children through animal agriculture. It’s a good reminder, as always, that we can choose compassion with every meal we eat.
A few months ago, the folks at Relay Foods reached out to me to see whether I might like to review one of their “bounty baskets.” I was excited; I’ve heard a lot about Relay this year. Relay Foods is an online grocery store that serves the DC, Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina area. They sell products from local stores, restaurants, and farms–from produce to speciality items–and deliver it to customers’ homes. They offer a bounty basket, which is a lot like a CSA box, full of seasonal produce from local farms, and their regular grocery section sells coffee, legumes, breads, grains, and pretty much anything else you might need. Both pickup options and deliveries are available, and you can choose exactly when you need something to be delivered, so that work schedules can be accommodated.
The Relay team offered me a half share bounty basket, which was just about perfect for a single person. I’m so glad I ordered when I did, because the overriding theme of this week’s bounty basket was green, green, and more green!
I was sent:
- Chard and Mushrooms from Local Food Hub
- Hydroponic Lettuce from Stover Shop Greenhouses
- Greens from Planet Earth Diversified
- Spearmint from Down Branch Farms
- Collards and kale from Harvest Hill Farm
- And 2 giant boxes of strawberries from Agriberry Farm
All of these farms are in the Virginia area.
Check out how stuffed my fridge was with green stuff! I have a small kitchen and a small fridge, so it’s usually busting at the seams with produce, but this was particularly funny:
I was thrilled with this bounty of fresh, beautiful produce. And the selection was perfect for me, since I could pretty much live off of greens and berries–so long as I was allowed the occasional avocado 😉
With this in mind, I whipped up a beautiful brunch salad yesterday, featuring the exquisite berries and greens I had been given. Dressed with a touch of agave, some lime juice, and sea salt, the flavors might well have emerged from a summery cocktail. The salad is simple, so that the greens and berries can shine, and it comes together quickly.
Kale, Avocado, and Strawberry Salad
Author -Ingredients
- 4-5 cups washed dried, and finely chopped curly kale
- 1/4 cup finely chopped basil
- 1 tbsp hemp oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
- Sea salt to taste
- 1/2 large ripe Haas avocado, chopped
- 1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
Instructions
- Place the kale and basil into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, lime juice, agave, salt to taste, and the avocado. Use your hands to “massage” everything together. If it needs more creaminess, add additional avocado.
- Toss in the strawberries. Serve. Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 main servings.
To round this meal out, you could serve it with some quinoa or chickpeas. It would also be great with flax crackers or any wholesome cracker of choice, or some Ezekiel toast. Or, if you like, you could simply follow it up with a giant bowl of strawberries–because it’s impossible to eat too many. I can’t believe I hated berries as a kid!
This salad would also be lovely at breakfast, especially in the coming warm months. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
To learn more about Relay, you can check out their website here. Read about their mission, and peruse their offerings. Relay is not a vegan online grocery destination, but the bounty box was certainly vegan and usually is (check each week to be sure that no animal products are included). In addition, a ton of vegan specialty items are sold through the site, so it’s an easy vegan shopping destination.
And if any of my readers here in the DC/NOVA/MD region would like to explore Relay, then I have good news! This link will allow you to take $30 off your first order over $50. So if you spend $51 on your weekly grocery haul from Relay, you’ll be getting it for $21. Pretty cool! You can also enter the link as a coupon code at checkout: relayfoods.com/friend/ryxh59.
Enjoy! And have a lovely Sunday.
xo
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Enjoyed this beautiful salad for lunch today… it was so good I’m making it again tomorrow! Salad is a great blend of greens, berries, and dressing flavors! Gena, you’re amazing in the kitchen!
Just enjoyed this gorgeous salad for lunch, delicious! Perfect balance of flavours and textures (I also added pumpkin seeds as per another commenter’s suggestion).
Definitely a repeat for tomorrow!
Have you ever thought about doing a post about what groceries that you buy for a weeks worth of meals? I have always wondered what amounts of everything you use in an average week. I am thinking of experimenting with some raw meals this summer thanks to you and your blog.
I’d love to do such a post, Sarah. I’ll put it on the agenda 🙂
This is a great recipe! I like using the organic variety for this recipe! Thank you for sharing looking forward to more healthy and yummy recipes.
Question about the Bounty Box- is everything organic?
Hey Amy! Everything in our Bounty Basket is always local but not always organic as it’s a difficult process for some local farmers to get certified. We do have an Organic Produce Box where everything is organic. Hope this helps!
I’m a regular Relay Foods customer and have had both the Bounty Basket and the organic one. I definitely prefer the Bounty Basket. Not only is it cheaper, but I think the overall quality is better. In my experience, at least, the local produce tastes organic but just does’t have the certification. It also tends to be more seasonally appropriate. You cant go wrong with either box, though — Relay is really super!
Thanks for making it so easy to print recipes now! Still hoping a cookbook might be in the pipeline ….?
Wow! This is a very tempting salad! I love Avocados and Strawberries because of its health benefits and I think this recipe is the perfect combination of my two favorite fruits. I will show this to my wife and we will make our own version. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Such a lovely salad, can’t wait to try it. Thanks! And what a great box, I look forward to getting our farm box for the new seasonal veggies to try.
Local agriculture is such a worthy (and delicious) investment! I’ve been showing how I use the veggies in my weekly share as well http://www.pinchofflavor.blogspot.com
Thanks for spreading the word about how we can support locally grown produce, Gena!
Such a gorgeoulsy simple salad! I love Hannah’s suggestion to add pumpkin seeds. Question, is there anything I could sub in for the lime juice? I’m off citrus for a little while…
Vinegar would be fine — apple cider, white balsamic. I hope you enjoy!
I am always looking for new ideas to keep my salads from getting boring. This one looks great, i love kale and strawberries. This salad just looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
I must admit that I was never a salad fan until I started reading your blog, Gena. You can transform a dish that sounds so plain and boring into an appartizing and exciting meal. I am actually excited to make a salad and try out different salad combinations! Thank you!
Just what I was looking for to bring to a grilling this weekend! I used to make complex salads, but switched to simple mode recently, and this is perfect. I think I’m going to finish it sprinkled with hemp seeds 🙂
I always massage my kale with avocado; it’s the best! I use lemon instead of lime though. I bet the lime flavor in this salad tastes great with the strawberries. Sunflower seeds would be a nice addition too!
Love the congratulations to ALL mothers!!!! So Beautiful <3 Love the salad as well!!!
Those strawberries look to die for! Gorgeous salad! I made something similar with a spinach base and almond butter dressing! http://peachypalate.com/2013/04/20/almond-butter-strawberry-salad/
My first thought was this would be great with some pumpkin seeds too!
So excited for strawberry season, I got my first box of the year at market this weekend too!
Pumpkin seeds are a lovely idea!
A great meal to eat alfresco on the deck this time of year. Thanks, can’t wait to try.
Beautiful! And so simple too. I laughed looking at all those greens because I have a teeny-tiny fridge in my university room and I struggle with stuffing bags of spinach, kale and the like in it!
That lime juice, sea salt and agave dressing sounds divine! And I love just about anything with strawberries or avocado!