No-cook AIP salad of dino kale, avocado, pomegranate, cucumber, and mint with a lemon-garlic-honey dressing

Some days the real fatigue of AIP shows up before you even start cooking, standing at the open fridge trying to remember what you are still allowed to eat. This bowl skips that whole calculation. Kale, avocado, pomegranate, cucumber, mint, every piece of it already compliant, nothing left to check twice. Massage the kale, whisk the dressing, and you are eating within minutes.

The ruby seeds are not just for looks. Pomegranate's polyphenols are compounds that keep drawing scientific attention for what they seem to do once they reach the gut, past simple antioxidant activity. The avocado is doing its own quiet job alongside them, its fat helping your body actually take up the nutrients sitting in the leaves beside it rather than letting them pass through unused.

The color alone is worth a second look before you eat it: dark green kale, pale avocado folded through, that deep red scattered on top. A body that has spent months hearing its labs look normal deserves a plate that looks cared for too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dino kale, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 2 small ripe avocados, diced
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
• 1.5 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1/2 tsp pink salt
• 1 tsp honey

Method

Strip the dino kale from its stems and slice it into thin 1/4 inch ribbons. Pile it into a large bowl. Massage the kale with your hands for about a minute. This softens the leaves and takes off the raw edge.

In a small jar or bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, pressed garlic, avocado oil, pink salt, and honey until the dressing comes together.

Add the diced avocado, pomegranate seeds, chopped cucumber, and mint to the kale. Pour the dressing over the top. Toss gently, just enough to coat everything without crushing the avocado. Serve right away while the seeds are crisp and the avocado is bright.

Notes

Honey keeps this refined-sugar-free, and honey is permitted on AIP in moderation. Confirm your honey is single-ingredient with nothing added.

Confirm the avocado oil is pure, cold-pressed, and free of blended seed oils. Pink salt is fine on AIP.

This salad is best eaten the day it is made. Avocado browns once cut, so it does not store well. If you want to prep ahead, slice the kale and cucumber and mix the dressing earlier, then add the avocado and pomegranate at the last minute.

Servings are not given in the source. As written this makes a generous side for two or a light lunch for one. Total time is an estimate based on the prep involved, not a tested figure.

*Adapted from lichenpaleo.com*