Around bitchinkitchen, we like to enjoy a little indulgence from time to time. A few too many adult beverages, a little too much dessert, CHEESE. We try not to stress too much about it as long as we’re eating heathfully most of the time. To us, that means lots of vegetables, whole grains and fruits. But in winter, that kind of eating can also mean shipping delicate greens and berries across the country or even further. You might as well spoon a giant blob of fossil fuels into your bowl. Yum!

In case you’ve been living under a rock, that way of thinking has spawned the locavore movement, which is closely tied with Slow Food (which also encompasses the social aspects of cooking and eating together). The thinking, broadly, is that eating locally grown and minimally processed foods is better for people, communities and ecosystems. Us BIK gals are fans because we heart Planet Earth, but also because it’s the handiest thing ever to run out and grab a sprig of rosemary from your garden rather than getting all cute and going to the grocery store for a box to whip up some herb scrambled eggs. We like any task that can be accomplished while wearing (also cute) PJs.

So, that brings us back to healthful eating. What to do in winter when all you crave is salad? Well, we took a page from Barbara Kingsolver’s fantastic book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and from Body + Soul magazine, and looked to winter greens for a hearty, tasty salad. You may not be lucky enough to find these at a farmer’s market at this time of year (but probably they are coming soon), but this is the season for good-for-you cold-weather greens like kale, Swiss chard and other winter veggies, and you can find them at any old grocery store. The key to making them salad ready is slicing them into thin ribbons and pairing with a bit of sweetness (apples, maple syrup and honey-toasted sunflower seeds in this case) and drizzling on a dressing with just a bit of bite.

I had already been thinking about winter salads thanks to Kingsolver’s book but didn’t take the plunge until I came across this recipe in Body + Soul. I made some tweaks because I find raw Brussels sprouts pretty unappealing, and I wanted more sweetness to balance the pungency of the mustard and the intensity of the greens. I served this to some friends, and to our genuine surprise, we all really liked it. I tweaked it a bit more and now like has turned to full-on love. It’s crunchy and fresh and just what I wanted after a week of too many sweets. Also, if I do say so myself, this salad is beautiful to look at. You can put it together ahead of time and just top with the sunflower seeds and dressing right before serving. Leave any excess dry – you can eat it for several days for lunches as long as you haven’t added the dressing.

Food for thought before you dive in: If you feel the urge to blanch all the greens, I beg you, resist! I tried it, and the kale and Swiss chard become irreparably rubbery. Silly me, I thought I could blanch and then dry the greens, and they would be salad-ready but, well, cooked. No, it totally doesn’t work that way. However, I think that approach does work well with the Brussels sprouts, so I did it. If raw cabbage is your thing, just chop the sprouts and use them uncooked.

One last thing – julienning is a chopping technique that basically means you slice something into narrow ribbons. It is mostly for texture and appearance. It that is too high-maintenance (especially with the apples), just chop however you like. This recipe is meant to be e-a-s-y, so don’t let a little thing like fancy chopping deter you. The only important thing for this salad is that the pieces be small. Even a happy kale convert like me can’t stomach a giant leaf in one bite.

Cold-weather salad with honey-toasted sunflower seeds

Adapted from Body + Soul magazine

Serves 6-8

Salad

1 pound Brussels sprouts

5 leaves kale

5 leaves Swiss chard

2 red-skinned apples, finely julienned (I liked Fuji apples for this), tossed with a couple teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent browning

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 pinches salt

Dressing

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Two tablespoons cold-pressed sunflower oil (or whatever you have handy)

¾ teaspoons salt

Make salad: Stem and finely slice Brussels sprouts into ribbons. Do the same with kale and chard, but do not mix with Brussels sprouts. Blanch Brussels sprouts in salted, boiling water for 4 minutes, then immerse in cold water to cool. Strain, and run through a salad spinner to dry shredded sprouts. Arrange chopped kale and Swiss chard on a platter, then scatter with dried Brussels sprouts. Scatter apple ribbons on top. Salad can be chilled at this point until time to serve.

Make sunflower seeds: Warm nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil, then stir in nuts. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nuts begin to brown and become fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to heatproof plate or pan and let cook. Break apart if necessary into small chunks and scatter over salad.

Make dressing: Whisk together mustard, lemon juice, syrup, sunflower oil and salt. Drizzle over salad when ready to serve.