As you’ve probably figured out from past posts, I’m a fan of kale. Kale sauteed with some garlic and olive oil? Delicious. Cooked in some soup with sausage? Perfect for this season. Toasted with squash for a fall salad? Yum! Which is why when Organic Girl told me they had a new baby kale they were sharing with bloggers, I couldn’t wait to try it out.

What is baby kale? And how is it different from traditional kale? Well first, as you can probably guess from the name, baby kale is a smaller in size. According to the folks at Organic Girl, it’s “much more tender and tastes (we believe) better than mature kale. People often complain that kale is very tough and that it’s hard to chew – most people try to ‘massage’ it before they cook it or use it in a salad to make it less course. Baby kale is not like that at all, it is a tender leaf variety that has the same exact nutrient content of the matured variety.” Pretty awesome right? So of course I was pumped to try it out. And a few days later, some baby kale arrived at my door!

Here’s a fun, easy way to enjoy some baby kale with some amazing flavor. The best part? You feel like you’re eating something much more indulgent, almost like a meal from Chipotle – but it’s actually healthy! (Shh, don’t tell B)

Shrimp and Baby Kale Fajita Salad

Serves 2

Here’s what you need:

• 7-8 oz frozen peeled deveined shrimp – I used the pretty 31-40 shrimp size so ended up using 14 shrimp
• 2 bell peppers
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 2 anaheim peppers
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbs cumin
• 1 avocado
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1 cup baby kale (I used Organic Girl baby kale – they wash it 3x so you don’t have to)

Here’s what you do:

1. Defrost the shrimp, according to package directions. For me, it meant running cool water over them for a while before removing their tails.
2. While the shrimp is defrosting, heat olive oil on a large pan on medium low. Add diced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Finely chop peppers and onion and add to pan.
3. Allow vegetables to cook for 10 minutes. As they start to soften, add chili powder, cayenne pepper and cumin. Allow to cook for about 15 more minutes.
4. Add in shrimp and mix well. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened and shrimp has absorbed the spices of the mixture.
5. While shrimp is heating up, prepare your “guacamole.” Cut avocado in half and remove pit. Mash the avocado well and add garlic powder and salt, to taste.  Just before serving, carefully fold in diced tomato.
6. Prepare your salad! Place 2 cups of baby kale on a plate. Top with shrimp fajita mixture and then guacamole. Enjoy!

Optional additions:

Salad would also be great with black beans.

Want salad dressing? I thought the sauce from the fajita mixture was enough, but the salad would also be great with a chili lime vinaigrette (1 Tbs lime juice, 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil and a dash of cumin and chili powder – enough for two salads!).

Your ingredients. Except i got a little happy with tomato and avocado – only one of each are needed.

Defrost the shrimp

Dice your veggies

sautee veggies in olive oil. add spices as veggies start to soften.

add shrimp to the veggies

Make your easy guacamole! Just avocado and garlic powder, salt and tomatoes.

Plate it up and enjoy!

Disclosure: As I mentioned above, Organic Girl provided me with a free sample of their baby kale. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all views are my own.