This roasted kale and salmon detox salad is my new favorite salad. The salmon sits atop a bed of kale and cherry tomatoes, and beautiful blood oranges add a hint of sweetness. And best of all, this salad can all be cooked on one pan.

I never thought I’d be jazzed up about a salad. I mean, I like salads and all, like this parmesan crusted romaine and chicken salad, but of course I cannot have cheese on whole30 (see overview here here and here) and so when I made this, I was beyond excited that a salad I could eat was THIS amazing. This salad has it all: a little crunch, a little citrus, delicious leafy greens and perfect flavor combinations.

Normally, the way I make salmon is by simply baking it, but of course I bake it with a lemon on top. By baking it with the lemon, subtle citrus notes stay with the salmon. I took that same concept of baking the salmon with this salad, but this time I placed blood orange slices on top of the salmon. It added a pleasant sweetness. And can we talk about the gorgeousness of of blood oranges? I just cant get enough! I love the deep red (blood) color and unique orangy flavor. My only wish is that I could have  a year round supply in my house (someone needs to invent abundant citrus trees in my back yard (I live in Wisconsin so these trees would have to be ok in winter, just throwing that out there..)

And let’s not forget the amazingness that is kale! Kale is packed with tons of vitamins and nutritional value, but until recently I hadn’t paid any attention to it. I was over at my friends house when she cooked kale (see whole30 week 3 day 16) and since then I couldn’t/can’t get enough.

Fresh, a little crispy around the edges, sweet acidity that counteract the earthy tones of the kale, the little tomatoes burst in your mouth, everything about this salad is fantastic!